Paint My Goodbye Red
by Shinryuu Uroborus
Summary: Megaman X7 from Axl's perspective. Contains mild headcanon. This story revolves around his feelings as he struggles to switch sides. And like the process of his defection, nothing about it is pretty. [COMPLETED]
1. Prologue: CONFLICT

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Prologue: Conflict**

"It's done! Go, Big Bro!"

"Yeah! Leave this place and live!"

I nodded with tear-filled eyes as I stared at each of them for the last time. My underlings. My men. My brothers. Even though I look and sound like a child untransformed, they still respected me, my experience and my authority. I always kept them close to me, made sure the hierarchy in my unit was flat. Hence, they call me "Big Bro". Not "Captain" or "Boss", but Big Bro".

"If I don't see you in robot heaven when I do get there, I'm never going to forgive you!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"YES SIR!" They saluted at me in unison—a gesture they developed themselves—I never told them to do that, yet they would do that on occasion.

"Hey, where's the memory chip again?"

"It's oooover here…there you go."

"Anyone else?"

"No, we're all set."

"Alright, pulling the triggers in 3…2…1…"

After that loud group gunshot, I knew I wouldn't be hearing their voices ever again. They had decided to kill themselves after securing an escape route for me, wiping out their electronic brains so that Anteator would never take them and hack into them to look at their memories.

I gritted my teeth and turned my back on them and teleported away. I couldn't bear the sight of their bodies lying motionless on the floor.

I wonder, am I selfish for doing this? Defecting to the Maverick Hunters? I know Red Alert is going to hell—it used to have a code of honour in spite of being an explicitly illegal bounty hunter organization. One big rule was: "Never unnecessarily murder innocents." Of course, this excludes targets and witnesses. It's true that we hunt mavericks with bounties on their heads. But as a small side venture, we also provided assassination services, and I'm one of the most well-known assassins in the group, given my skill, shape-shifting.

Which "the Professor" is after. And that's why he's plunging Red Alert to hell for. He's doing all this because of me.

It's all my fault. But what have I done for them to deserve this?

No. They don't deserve this. But all of this is happening because I exist. But have I done or not done something to deserve this?

I'll think about that later.

I landed on my feet, looking at the back entrance of the base. The lasers are still on. They're always on. My brothers didn't mess with the security system too much to make sure my escape attempt wasn't so obvious, as the history of usage is always made public, and there are no plans to deactivate them. I would alert the whole damn base this instant if my escape attempt was flashier than it already is, what with my brothers having to kill themselves and all. I ran, dodged the lasers, shot them to make them stop when I got to them. It's just the beginning, and I don't want to get beat up by our own lasers—it would be super lame.

Next is the hard part—getting past the security guards. The guys I used to say hello to when I pass by them. I have to shoot them. Kill them. I…kill…them…no. Those words don't mix. But now, they have to.

"Captain Axl? Why are you here? You're supposed to be with the Prof—"

I interrupted him with a headshot. Some of them gasped in response, their feet rooted to the ground. One of them ran to the guard's body, knelt by his side and started trying to revive him. I quickly pulled out my other gun to dispose all of them quickly, shooting head after head. I held back my tears as I forced myself to keep my eyes open, so I could aim. As a side-effect, I had to bear the sight of their heads exploding to pieces, one by one. Except for one, whom I had yet to shoot, because he wasn't standing like the others.

The one who had been trying to revive his teammate got up and took out a bomb from his hand, screaming "TRAITOR!" at me. Whispering an "I'm sorry" at him, I shot the bomb off his hand with one gun, his head with the other.

I left the silent, corpse-filled back entrance, walking to the back gate, opening it.

I wish I could sneak out of the back door instead of having to kill my now-former mates like this, but today everyone knew that I wasn't allowed to leave base. Just a few days ago, the Professor had planned to use me for some sort of research attempt. After everything that happened to Red Alert after his arrival, hell if I'll let him mess with me. Fortunately, it took him days to prepare the laboratory, and during those days, I planned my escape.

My escape will be explosive and painful by the time I'm done, but I have to get out of here. Or else the nightmare will continue, with me as one of the core drivers. And I don't want that.

Without looking back, I stepped out, the last of my tears dripping on the floor of the base. It'll be the last trace of me I will leave.

Beloved home…goodbye. Forever.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Sorry for the left alignment for the fic title and chapter title-FFN screwed up on me. The center align tool suddenly wouldn't work right. So I had to do this. Thank you so much for the support and yes, I will finish this._


	2. Chapter 1: DISASTER

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED  
Chapter 1: Disaster**

I expect that at this point, Anteator would've known I'm out of the base, and that I'm running away. Using their serial number and the information from their identity chip, reploids can be tracked. Only the government can legally have a device that can use that information to track every single reploid. Red Alert, being a very powerful organization, illegally possesses one. After stepping out of the back gate, I transformed into a crash roader to move as fast as possible. Search parties will be sent to find me, and I don't want anyone to see my face.

Speeding through the Central Highway, I have only one destination in my mind: The Maverick Hunters' HQ. Usually, I don't come to the guys who have been trying to eradicate us for the past two months, but this is a special occasion. Ever since the Professor showed his face in Red Alert, everything went to hell. We're not saints ourselves, but if there's a way to wipe that bald asshole off the face of the Earth, then so be it—because clearly, Red's not getting rid of him anytime soon.

"Hey! Watch it!"  
"Oooh god, did it scratch the car?"  
"Why is that little thing speeding through the red light?"  
"Watch it get run over by a truck. Hah!"  
"Is that a maverick? I don't think crash roaders are supposed to run around here unsupervised."

Even at night, Central Highway continues to be a busy place. I have to move somewhere quieter as quickly as possible, or else innocents will die. I've killed enough people as of now, and I don't intend on ramping up my kill count. Without looking back, I sped through.

Suddenly, loud sounds are heard. Metal was crushed and flattened. People started screaming. Cars started moving in spite of the red light. One of them knocked me over, followed by another. I rolled off the side of the road and hit the railing. Having been through far worse pain before, the bruises are nothing. What hurts me more is that how inconsiderate people can be. I reverted to my original form, just so the other speeding cars know that there's a person over here, not a mechaniloid. What the hell is going on? The first thing I saw upon getting back to my feet was the sight of many, many cars stuck on the road, honking at each other, refusing to make way for each other. And then I looked up.

There was Mega Scorpio—the large powerful mechaniloid Anteator had worked on enthusiastically a few months ago. With powerful legs, deadly weapons and advanced tracking capabilities, among other things, Mega Scorpio is Anteator's newest apple-of-his-eye. As with other apples of his eye, he refused to deploy Mega Scorpio unless it was either an emergency or if something big happened. Right now, it looks like it's both.

Looking at the flattened cars underneath Mega Scorpio's feet, I realized what had happened. These people stuck in the road will die unless I do something.

I jumped back to get close to Mega Scorpio. The honking, screaming and yelling will drown out my voice. I hovered right in front of Mega Scorpio's face and looked it in the eye.

"I'm the one you want! This is between the two of us. If you kill more people, I'm never going to forgive you!"

Just for good measure and for emphasis, I pulled out both of my guns and shot both of its eyes. They didn't break, of course. My standard guns can only do so much. I hovered away, back to the area of the road I was in. It is now empty, as everyone's stuck in front of Mega Scorpio, honking and yelling at each other, demanding people make way for them, but unwilling to make way for other people themselves. Thankfully, because of that, they didn't see me, nor could they hear me.

I ran away some more. If Red Alert can still be saved, they will still follow the one most important rule in our code of honour: "Never unnecessarily kill innocents." And if they're following it, that means Mega Scorpio will jump right to this quiet, vehicle-less area. I have to make room for it, or else I'll be either squashed, captured, or both. I looked back, and smirked.

Indeed, it jumped away from the honking pile of cars, and it ended up right behind me. I felt the shakes, and started dashing away from it. Thankfully, because the cars that were here had driven away, and the cars that would've been here had we not interrupted their trip were stuck behind us, this straight pathway is empty. I guess their selfishness saved them, huh?

I wish I could say the same for myself, if this is even selfishness at all. The night before the trip, I had thought to myself if I was selfish for doing this. Even though I've—I had been—a mercenary of Red Alert for 10 years now, I always wanted to join the Maverick Hunters. In spite of being a supposedly versatile copy reploid, all I've known all my life is fighting. And even then, Red Alert, me included, never fought for the good of the people. The Maverick Hunters do. The only thing that prevented me from leaving was that I love my friends and family in Red Alert.

But now, I'm leaving because I love them. But still, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for not telling anyone. I'm so sorry for killing our own guys as I left. But I can't avoid all these, because you wouldn't believe me if I told you anything about it at all.

Right now, I have to get rid of Mega Scorpio. Racing in an empty straight pathway like this is a luxury, but it's not going to last. There's only so much time before the Maverick Hunters are summoned to handle this ruckus, and the plan would go boom if I get arrested and executed.

I skidded and turned back, pulling out both of my guns. Having visited Anteator while he developed Mega Scorpio from time to time, I know where to shoot to shatter the armour protecting its joints. Two well-aimed bullets shattered the joint armour of its left claw. Angered, it thrust its right claw to hit me, but I rolled sideways and got up just in time. Before it could pull its claw out of the concrete, I destroyed the right claw's joint armour.

Mega Scorpio roared in anger, and I smirked. It started shooting from its stinger, and I dodged them easily. That stinger is a challenge to destroy. The shots are powerful, and the recoil would've destroyed the whole stinger if it wasn't super durable. Having only carried my standard guns with me, I can't destroy the stinger. The head is the best bet, but I can't even destroy its eyes after shooting them at point-blank range.

What do I do? Who do I copy?

The annoying downside of being a copy reploid is that you're not expected to be capable of anything on your own. Just copy someone powerful. That's how your value is measured. I wanted to defy that blasted notion, so I dedicated myself to gun-fighting for all these ten years. Starting from the pair of guns Red found me with, I never gave up.

But I can only go this far…dammit!

The sound of Mega Scorpio screaming as its stinger was cut interrupted my thoughts. My eyes widened as I watched the stinger hit the ground. Impossible…impossible. Whoever had done this must be a super-powerful entity. That stinger was made of the most durable metal we had. But after seeing the face of the person who cut that stinger off, everything made sense.

It was Maverick Hunter Zero.

* * *

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _PMGR is back with a new update!_


	3. Chapter 2: ZERO

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED  
Chapter 2: Zero**

"You have a lot of explaining to do." Zero spoke to me as he eyed me from head to toe. A non-hunter in armour, with two guns in hand, fighting Mega Scorpio alone. Am I suspicious? Hell yes, I'm very very suspicious. "You are connected to this incident, am I correct?" Zero continued.

I bit my lip. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I had previously planned to play the child, taking advantage of my looks and voice to look like I'm a naïve child who happened to grow up in the wrong place, and I definitely look less like the part now. But at the same time, he saw me trying to get rid of Mega Scorpio. Surely he knows I want to stop it from wreaking havoc? Or will he see this as me taking the fight somewhere very unsuitable for a battleground?

There's only one way to find out…

"Okay, I'll explain everything, but first, we have to take care of this freak." I replied.

"Hmph. Fine, you do raise a good point." Zero dashed before stopping beside me. Shortly after, I heard his helmet communicator beep.

"The head, huh? Alright. Thanks, Alia."

After the call was finished, Zero turned to me. "You can aim, right? I want you to help me destroy that head. What's your name?"

"I-It's Axl." I introduced myself.

"Right. I'll cut the pincers off. The joints being exposed made the job way easier. That head is hard to reach, so I'll be counting on you to shoot it for me."

I nodded, biting my lip again. I shot his eyes with both guns last time, and they didn't break. They just cracked, but that's about it. I don't think I can destroy the head, but I can't tell him that, nor can I tell myself that again. Zero's my role model for all these years, and I can't let him down, and I'm not letting myself down the second time either.

I've done this for ten years. Ten years is a long time. I can do this. I have to do this.

Mega Scorpio roared once again, stabbing both pincers to the ground, and we dodged in time. I dashed to the back. If attacks from the front don't work, what about attacks from the back? Anteator is always good at the art of understanding people, and he knows that most people attack from the front. The back side of the head had been protected from the stinger until Zero sliced it off. I remember Mega Scorpio cost a lot to build, and Red had to tell Anteator to stop using so much of the most expensive materials. Anteator had to oblige, but never told anyone where the weakest areas are.

I hovered up, closely towards the back of Mega Scorpio's head. I was fortunate—it was occupied with Zero, who had been dodging its attacks, rolling and dashing to slice at the right place to cut its pincers off. I aimed both of my guns at the back of its head, and Mega Scorpio screamed as small puffs of blue smoke filled the air.

My feet hit the ground just as I saw Zero flashing a thumbs-up at me. It's funny how I could trust him even more than I trust myself, and that's saying something.

Mega Scorpio quickly turned back to face me before stomping towards me to attempt to crush me underfoot. I had exposed its true weakness, and it is not pleased. Seeing this, Zero dashed forwards towards it, taking advantage of its unmoving pincers, and as he dashed, performed a spinning slash that instantly severed both pincers. All of that in less than 5 seconds…

By the time Zero skidded beside me, Mega Scorpio was screaming in agony over the loss of its two pincers.

"All you need to do is do that back-headshot again, and everything will be finished. I'll keep him occupied." Zero spoke to me with a calmer tone.

"Yes, sir." I responded before dashing behind it. Mega Scorpio was focusing on Zero this time, furious over the loss of two limbs at once. My hypothesis proven correct, I decided to give it all by shooting the back of its head like no tomorrow, squeezing the trigger. Soon after, the head exploded, and Mega Scorpio was defeated.

We…defeated Mega Scorpio. I honestly thought this thing was indestructible. It was made of the best material we had, it took Anteator ages to get it done, and we destroyed it in less than a day. And that stinger…Zero destroyed it with a single well-timed slash. I may not be able to blind it, but I exposed its joints and destroyed its head.

I breathed out a sigh of relief, even though I know that this isn't over…this is just the beginning.

"Well, that takes care of it. Now, about that explanation you owe me." Zero said to me as he sheathed his saber.

"You're Zero, right? I need to speak to the Maverick Hunters about this. It's very urgent." I asked him, looking him in the eye. I don't want him to question me for about ten minutes, and then leave me on my own. I may be taken in as a prisoner, but I don't care as long as they allow me to tell the truth, and as long as I don't end up dead. They need to hear the whole story.

"I'll be the judge of that once you answer my questions. I need to know if you're not secretly trying to suicide-bomb us once we take you in." Zero spoke with a stern tone.

Oh really? You're afraid of that? Really, you don't have to. Let's make this quick.

I silently dropped both of my guns and lifted both my arms up in the air.

"Search me, and I assure you that you won't find anything funny."

"Pick your guns up and hand them to me, and then answer my questions. You seem sincere, but rules are rules, and you're no different from anybody else." Zero commanded, folding his arms.

"Alright…" I responded before doing just as he asked. "So, what is it you want to know?"

"Do you know where that mechaniloid came from, and why was it after you?"  
"Yes, I do. It's one of Red Alert's mechaniloids. It was chasing me because I'm a runaway traitor."

Zero furrowed his brow. Without saying another word, he materialized a pair of handcuffs and roughly cuffed both of my hands.

"You're coming with me, Axl."  
"Told you so."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This chapter was a bit hard to rewrite, but I still think it's better than the original Chapter 2.  
_


	4. Ignore this

So um...there was an "important notice" that took the place of "Chapter 4" in reviews. Now that I've removed it after Chapter 20 or something, the reviews have become slightly disorganized. Like, reviews for chapter 6 now show up as a "chapter 5" review, so I'm just...yeah. Putting things back into place. Move along.


	5. Chapter 3: JUDGEMENT

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 3: Judgement**

The first part of the plan was complete. I had left the Crimson Palace, and have successfully arrived in Maverick Hunters HQ. Even though I ended up handcuffed, it's fine. I'm here in one piece, and I've proven myself to Zero. Or at least, that's what I'd like to think…

"Hey, is that the bastard that was responsible for today's shitstorm?"  
"That big fucking thing killed my friend! He should die, too!"

One death glare from Zero was enough to silence the angry hunters in the hall. They quickly ran away from the both of us. Frankly, I don't mind them spouting those insults. I can't deny that people died today as a result of my escape. They didn't do anything, yet they died a messy, horrible death. They were just minding their own business, living their daily life. They just happened to be on the wrong time and place, and yet…

I balled both of my hands into fists. Enough people had died because of me today, and this is just the beginning. How many more good people are going to die? I deserve these cuffs. I don't mind being executed, even. But even if I'm getting a death penalty, I want to at least make sure that the Professor's dead and gone.

"Hey…Axl?" Zero turned to me, his eyes softened. "Don't let them get to you. You did the right thing."

I turned to look at him. I can't even forgive myself, and now he's picking me up. We're not even friends yet, and he's picking me back up. I'm a prisoner. Why is he doing this?

"Red Alert has been causing us trouble these days, and for you to betray them and face the thing they sent after you alone is something I respect." Zero continued as he led me.

"Thank you, Zero." I thanked him while forcing a smile. "If I may ask, can you at least take this off? I don't…I don't want to feel more like a criminal than I already do."

"Just a little bit more." Zero reassured me.

He's kind. So very kind. Thinking back on my plan to pretend I'm a naïve child; do I go through with it? He's appreciated me as it is, I don't think I need to pretend. I don't mind pretending to be someone else on a mission or something. But pretending in front of the people I might—if I'm lucky—be associated with potentially forever from now on? Especially considering that I've received kindness like this? I can't lie to him. I can't lie to them. I don't even think I have to. I'm trying to win their trust, why the hell am I supposed to lie?

I was such an idiot.

"Axl? We're here." Zero said to me after he stopped walking. Right after he spoke, he removed my cuffs. Seeing the proof of my guilt dematerialize made me feel better. While I moved my hands around, Zero opened the door, and we stepped in.

It was the Maverick Hunters command room. Three desks surround the room: Two of them on the sides, and one higher desk in front of us, with a screen behind it. Behind the left desk was the Maverick Hunters' best navigator, Alia. The high center desk, the Maverick Hunters' commander, Signas, while behind the right desk was…X, the legendary Maverick Hunter and "father of all reploids"…my other role model alongside Zero.

So much has changed in less than 3 months, and all it took was one domino flick—X's retirement. Afterwards, Zero hunted mavericks alone. It was weird after seeing them hunt mavericks back-to-back all this time. Both of them were hailed as the Maverick Hunters' trump cards, the "golden combination". Even until now, I still find it strange and sad that Zero resumes his duties alone without X, or a replacement for him.

Besides that, finally being able to see X physically, so close to me, at this point…it filled me with sadness. I always dreamed of being able to see them, and that our meeting would be a legendary moment for me, what with facing both mighty Maverick Hunters and all. But now, even though they still retained some form of gentleness, X's eyes aren't as sharp and determined as I imagined them. Instead, his green eyes are dull, narrowed and baggy.

Funny…it's like this is the day that the world as I had known it was blown to pieces.

Red Alert is no longer home, but a prison I finally escaped from. I was a captain of a happy squad, but here I am by my lonesome, my brothers having sacrificed themselves for me to get this far. I was a proud shape-shifting assassin, confident I could do everything on my own with my acting skills, gun-fighting skills and copy chip, but that fight and escape attempt had proved me that even I need someone else. And now my role models Zero and X, the Maverick Hunters' legendary golden combination…is no longer a combination, and X in particular is just a shell of who he used to be.

"So…you're the one who caused all this trouble?" X started speaking, glaring at me. My feet rooted to the ground at the sight of scorching hate coming from his eyes, I widened my own eyes. "Do you know what you have done? People died today. Cars, roads and buildings were all destroyed by that one mechaniloid…so many lives destroyed!"

"X, calm down." Signas spoke to him, looking at X sternly, but calmly. "Your name's Axl, isn't it? Why don't you tell us what happened?" he turned his attention to me, giving me a chance to explain myself.

"I…I escaped from Red Alert. We may be an illegal organization, but even we had our codes of honour and those codes explicitly forbid the killings of innocents. And so, we minded our business, never unnecessarily harming or even killing, but a few weeks ago…everything changed. Red Alert started murdering innocent people. I couldn't stand it anymore. I want them to stop, and I wanted no part of it. That's why I escaped, that's why I came here. I want you to help me stop them."

I explained everything while holding back my tears as the memories returned to me. The happy family we used to be, holding ourselves above more unscrupulous groups who end up eradicated, satisfying our clients and being a prosperous group. And then the Professor's arrival…Red escorted him, and he introduced himself as a "sympathizer of our cause". We took his bait, and now everyone's…

Suddenly, I saw X hang his head, and I could hear him mutter, "There's no other way, huh…"

"I'm sorry for what happened today. I know a simple apology can't cover it. I saw Mega Scorpio kill people in his pursuit of me with my own eyes, and I wish I could've prevented it. I honestly thought they wouldn't send THAT thing after me, just a simple search party." I apologized, remembering the second part of X's tirade. He's not the only one who wished whoever died today didn't die, after all. "And it might have destroyed a lot more things before it got to me, because when it did, I was already far away from Red Alert's base. I tried sneaking and escaping as discreetly as possible, but they could track me, and then…"

"Axl, that's enough, thank you." Signas stopped me, again with the gentle voice. It's as if he knows what I'm going through.

"They've come for Axl, sending that thing after him." Zero reported. "It's likely that they're going to try and retrieve him, maybe send something bigger to do the job now that he's here with us. This means he's an important enough member for them to use something like that."

"This might be our big chance. Red Alert has been causing us so much trouble for these past 2 months. We have to end this once and for all." Signas suggested the inevitable, to my horror.

I had expected this; I had braced myself for this. I know they will jump at the chance to gun my family down, especially given that I'm here to help them. But still, I don't like the idea of having to kill my own family. The people I had lived with for these past 10 years. The people I laughed with, cried with, fought with. I'm leaving them out of love, because maybe I can save them. But is death honestly the closest thing to salvation for them? Does it have to be that way?

"You mean you don't mind the idea of the city turning into a battleground?" X screamed at Signas, appalled at the idea of having to fight and endanger people again—of course, this is why he retired. He thought that he could be a pioneer of peaceful resolutions, but everything backfired in his face. In the absence of a legendary sword of law and justice, criminals began to rise, and bounty hunters like Red Alert rose with them. Yet he's still thinking that staying like this is a good thing. "If we fight them, we're just going to ruin everything we've built after Eurasia, for the whole of ten years! More people will die, and even more lives will be ruined!" X continued ranting at Signas.

"X, do you think we like making decisions like these?" Alia responded to X's ranting. Her hands had turned into fists, her eyes narrowed as she held back her own tears. "There is not always an ideal decision. All of us want them to just surrender peacefully and give up their weapons. But that's not going to happen, X, as much as we want it to."

"Please, X…this is why we have to fight." I begged X to reconsider. I may be overstepping my boundaries, but I have to cast my vote. "I came all the way here because I knew I couldn't convince them with words. If I could do it, would I even be here asking for your help, knowing that you guys wanted us dead?"

"That's enough!" X snapped at me. "Who ever said you have a say in our situation? You have no idea how much trouble you've caused, and you dare think your opinion is worth anything?"

"Don't be such a bloody idiot, X!" It was Alia's turn to yell at him. "Zero said it himself. Axl is an important member of Red Alert. He knows what we don't know about Red Alert, including their weaknesses! Commander Signas is right, this is our chance, and because Axl is here, he can help us finish this faster than you and your so-called peaceful ways can!" I winced at Alia's last sentence. I feel a bit relieved that I'm not the only one disappointed by X's retirement, but I still feel bad for X. He had thought to make things better for everyone, but in the end he ended up hurting more people.

"How can you be so sure of his value?" X snapped back. "We haven't even seen his face before! We've seen their eight generals and Red himself, but not him! Who's to say that he isn't worthless, and the fight earlier wasn't just the result of Red Alert itching for a fight against us?"

I guess all these attempts for me to keep a low profile worked. As a shape-shifting spy and assassin, it's very important for me to lay low. I would be screwed if everyone knows my name and face, and that I am a shape-shifting bot. Having surprised enemies one by one by one, if someone outside my family ever knows who I truly am and survived, they might want to…use me. Just like the Professor.

But I can't tell X that, especially not now. He would instantly drag me into the execution ground himself and finish me off with one charge shot.

Suddenly, static noises coming from the big screen behind Signas directed everyone's attention there.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Another complete rewriting. This has been a very feelsy chapter for me, because I get to explore everyone's feelings (And give Alia more character), and I hope it's one for you too. I also changed several major things. In the old Chapter 3, Axl started pretending he is a child, in order to fool the Maverick Hunters into tolerating him more, but now that I know that adaptations don't have to be very loyal to the original source, I made the best decision I could and let Axl's true personality (As I see it) shine through-a truly honest and mature person who knows what's up. Because honestly, if you've been living in the criminal underworld for 10 years and end your career as one of Red Alert's top members, you wouldn't be a kid anymore._


	6. Bonus Chapter 1: HELL

_**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This time, a bonus chapter in Red's perspective, set shortly after the Prologue. This is based on the cutscene that appears after 7 bosses have been defeated. There was a bit of a continuity problem, or at least a perception problem as the cutscene has to be set before the bosses were killed, yet it appeared after 7 of them are retired. If it really was set when I think it is (Right after Axl's escape), I think the dev team should've made it a bit more obvious._

* * *

 **PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Bonus Chapter 1: Hell**

I had searched for Axl by request of the Professor. Usually, I don't let anyone order me around, and no one dared either. But today was special, other people have been sent to look for him and I know Axl more than anyone. And the Professor is a special person, so to speak.

I may not like him all that much, especially after what he's done to my generals. On the first day I escorted him here, proclaiming him as an ally after he offered to help us, a few Red Alert members were suspicious of him. I was especially suspicious of him, because the moment he saw Axl, he stared hungrily at him. Our suspicions were proven right when after the first upgrades on 7 of the generals; all of them were hurt, in one way or another.

Stonekong had trouble swinging his sword. Gungaroo, who was hyper in the first place, turned uncontrollable. Warfly couldn't stay in the water for as long as he used to. Tonion started speaking strangely. Crowrang had trouble flying long distances, which upset him very much. Boarski had always been short-tempered, but it got much worse after the upgrade. Hyenard got the worst of it. Anteator didn't get any upgrades, but he would toil with the Professor day and night, always retreating to his corners tired and weary.

I confronted him about it the moment I noticed this, and he replied that it was "just a phase" and that to speed it up, he needs DNA data from Axl, from a particular place, from a particular bunch of people. We did as he asked, at the cost of violating our code of honour. I still remember the sight of my armour and scythe being stained by the blood of the innocent humans and reploids we had killed, and Axl breaking down in tears in the corpse-filled corridor.

Ever since then, the Professor demanded more and more DNA data for him, using it for upgrade after upgrade. True to his word, though, the generals stopped having those problems after the upgrade was applied. But we were still suspicious of him. Just one month ago, he joined and not long after, he hurt my generals and forced us to violate our codes of honour. But even so, this might only be a phase and we may truly enter an era of prosperity never seen before. After all, the generals did perform better and better the more we give him what he asked.

Today, Axl was supposed to participate in the Professor's latest experiment. It had been planned since a few days ago. I remember that he had tried to hide his horror when I told him. He kept a generally straight face, but his widened eyes gave it away. But still, it's not like him to run away from his responsibilities like this. He always finishes his work in time, and never shows up late, except for a few special occasions.

In the middle of the search, I had heard the sound of many shots ringing at the same time, and I had to investigate.

I got my answer when I stepped into the room where the sound came from. It was the teleportation room, littered with the bodies of Axl's underlings. By the time I arrived into the room, there was nothing and no one else. One teleportation device was very recently used.

It was at that point the truth dawned on me…Axl had escaped. He was fed up with all the bullshit that had happened, and the Professor's attempt to experiment on him was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Honestly, I don't blame him. He was very proud of Red Alert and its codes of honour, and he's a moral person himself. I remember on one mission, he bothered to show the target, Aluce, that his second-in-command Cedar didn't betray him, all because he didn't want Aluce to die undeservingly hating his friend. It's likely that Axl had planned this ever since he knew the Professor was going to tinker with him. Maybe he figured that we might be forced into a horrible errand afterwards, or his insides might be manipulated by the Professor, or both.

But that's fine, I understand. We had committed unforgiveable things, and that incident when he broke into tears must have been what disgusted him so much, he decided to leave and not tell me.

Goodbyes are always sad, but I'm not going to force him to stay if he doesn't want to. After all, the saying goes, if you love someone, set them free. I'd rather him be happy somewhere else than slowly break down in here. I swear everything started crashing down on us ever since the Professor came in.

I let a teardrop fall from my one good eye. Axl had been my "child" for these 10 years. Along with the rest of Red Alert, we were a happy family. Losing a family member is always hard, so it's fine to shed a tear for this occasion.

Suddenly, footsteps are heard from behind me.

"Red…Axl's gone." I heard Anteator's voice. I didn't turn back. I don't want him to see me cry, even though he's one of my closest family members.

"I know. Let him be."

"How could you say that?" he raised his voice. I know it's hard on him too. As a senior member, he's known a lot of the members. He worked with Axl often, so they grew close.

"We have no right to force him to stay here if he doesn't want to. Besides, I understand why he wanted to leave. We've…broken our own rules."

Anteator sighed before leaving the room.

A few moments after Anteator left, I did as well, walking to the command room to get myself some time alone, and to order someone to clean up the mess and give Axl's brothers a proper funeral, locking the door behind me.

I ordered the clean-up soon after and heaved a big sigh. I always knew that nothing truly lasts forever, including relationships. For example, I always imagined that my relationship with Axl would end in me outliving him, maybe from being an out-dated reploid no one knows how to fix anymore, or from falling in battle. Not like this. But after all I had indirectly allowed to happen, I think I deserve this.

I opened the tracking program, which displayed Axl's location. He's heading towards Maverick Hunters HQ as fast as possible. I smiled a little. He's still alive and fine, and no one's gotten hold of him. He's safe. It's okay. He'll know that we know where he is, but at least I want him to know that it's fine, and that I won't go after him. He'll be working with the faction he always dreamed of entering. He'll be happy, even without me.

My heart almost skipped a beat when the doorbell sounded. Dammit, what a moment killer.

"Yes, who is it?" I called out, still sitting on my chair. Hopefully it's nothing serious. I really don't want to deal with something big while I'm dealing with something big myself, but I guess the escape of a major member IS a big enough thing to shake the whole base. Probably just someone in disbelief over what's going on...

"Master Red? Are you in there?"

Goddammit, it's the Professor. I quickly shut down the tracking program. He'll demand for Axl's return, I know it. But I think this is one demand I can refuse to grant him. We've granted every single one of his requests and demands, and I'm sick of playing the dog to his god. This is the last straw for me, too. I lost Axl because of all the bullshit the Prof made us go through. I'm not about to make the problem worse just because he's gone and probably not coming back.

"Yes, I am, what is it now?" I replied back to him, still on my chair, not moving.

"You know what's going on. Axl had run away at the worst possible time, and I need him here right now." I knew it.

I groaned. "Professor, I know that Red Alert has gotten more and more powerful as we agreed to your recommendations. But I'm afraid that this is the one request I can't grant you. We've let him go, and he has the right to his own freedom." I tried to lay it down to him as politely as possible. I could've cussed a storm at him, but it isn't a wise decision. He might attempt to shut my vocal cords down in my sleep for that.

"Hmm, are you sure you don't want or need more power?" Please, stop. Fucking stop. It isn't…it isn't the thing that matters most in the world. I was wrong to take him in in the first place. Red Alert was powerful enough after X's retirement. I didn't need any more power, none of us do—but why was I so goddamn greedy as to allow him in? Why was I so fucking stupid not to suspect anything when he didn't name a price at the very beginning?

"No. We're fine now, thank you. We don't need power anymore." I replied to the Professor, hoping he'll leave me alone.

"Tsk. What a shame…I haven't gotten what I wanted. You're not dense enough as to believe I would do all this for you for free, are you? You haven't paid my price yet…" as he finished his sentence, the sound of the door opening upon a successful password input was heard, and I jumped. Anteator, Stonekong and Crowrang were the only people other than me to know the password of the command room, but why…

The answer dawned on me when the door slowly opened, showing the Professor, with all my generals behind him, with blank, unfocused eyes that glow white. The Professor slowly walked in the room to face me, with my generals marching behind him like obedient ants.

"Wh-what? What have you done to my pals? Explain yourself!" I yelled at him. How dare he violate them like this?

"Heh heh heh…I'm not about to leave empty-handed. Axl's the only one who can give him what I want, and he'll listen to you no matter what, won't he? Hand me X and Zero's data, or they'll never return to normal!" the Professor threatened me. How dare he?

"You used all of us, don't you? I've had enough of this. We won't search for him for you. And we won't attack any more innocents. Not anymore!" I refused his request.

"Really, now? You want me to just leave this place, and leave them like this? Believe me, they'll stay like this until I do something about it, and I won't, not until you give me the data I want!"

…How? There has to be at least a little bit of them I can call out to, right? I stepped forward to each and every one of them, calling their names and waving my hand in front of their eyes, slapping their faces when they didn't respond. But they didn't respond anyway...

"Slap me back, goddammit! What the fuck is wrong with you guys? Wake up!"

The only thing I got in response to that was the Professor's nasty laughter.

Humiliated, cornered and alone, I clenched my fist hard enough to feel a few things cracking. We had been used. All this time, we were only his pawns. Why did I allow this to happen? Why did I let him in? Why did I not drive him out or outright kill him after what he had done, what he had forced us to do?

I'm sorry, everyone.

I'm a piece-of-shit leader.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Another massive rewrite. I'm so glad that I know now that adaptations don't have to be loyal to the source material. The original dialogue I took this from was NASTY. I couldn't work around it very well and everything just went to...*badum tss* hell. Kind of. I am forever grateful to Big Sis for telling me about that rule, because now I can tell the story I truly want to. _


	7. Chapter 4: HAVEN

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 4: Haven**

"Unidentified transmission incoming! Transferring to monitor now." Alia reported as she furiously worked on transferring whatever transmission that interrupted the heated argument.

I tried to breathe slowly to keep myself calm. By this point, everyone in Red Alert would know that I had successfully escaped, and that Mega Scorpio had gone boom. Oooh, Anteator's gonna be so pissed. But more importantly, the Professor would demand Red to look for me. Or maybe worse. Would he mess up Red in place of me? Had he already done that?

There's no use speculating.

Soon after, the monitor displayed Red's smirking face in the monitor. X narrowed his eyes in anger and glared at him. Signas folded his arms. Red was always good at putting on a brave face whenever, and he even fooled me many times—at least, in my younger years. At this point, I can already read the despair inside his forced smirk and nearly-blank eye. That's good, there's still life in his eyes. At least the Professor spared him.

I'm sorry, Red. But I had to leave.

"Good evening, Maverick Hunters. I see you've gotten our little friend Axl inside your grasp. You've seen what we could, and would do to make sure he stayed, so just so you know, Mega Scorpio's not the only one we have. We can make this simple, peaceful and diplomatic, if you'd just hand him back to us."

Simple, peaceful, diplomatic. Just the right words to make X widen his eyes and freeze. Seeing that, Red's expression turned relaxed, knowing that he hit just the right spot to provoke X into voting for dragging me back to Red Alert kicking and screaming. I gritted my teeth and stared daggers at Red, for having manipulated X—no. It's not that I'm angry because Red is doing this to X. I'm angry because X was THIS easy to manipulate with the right keywords, and Red did exactly that to bring me back, even though it's VERY clear that no, I'm not coming back. I turned to X and balled my hand into a fist, hard. How dare you? I looked up to you! You were my role model, someone whom I wanted to be!

I looked back at the monitor. "No, Red. You're not making me come back. Not in pieces, at least. I left for a reason. If I was so chicken as to leave and come back shortly after stepping out of base, I would've let Mega Scorpio haul me back. Even if you promise to surrender to the Maverick Hunters, I'm not gonna come back." I calmly replied, careful not to raise my voice or blurt out profanities. Even though we're no longer part of the same group, Red is still my "father", and I respect him…do I? Even after all this had happened, do I still respect him?

I certainly still love him, though.

"Heh, so be it. Not even peaceful resolutions can make you return to us, so we'll have to use force—" Red responded to my rejection, before being cut off by X.

"No! Axl has got nothing to do with us, and I refuse to endanger anyone else any further, especially not for his sake! He's valuable to you, isn't he? He's in our hands now. How about you surrender, or else…"

X interrupted his speech to turn his arm into a buster, and aimed it at me. I widened my eyes and positioned my arms in front of my body, as if to protect myself. Alia gasped, preventing herself from screaming.

"Or else I'll blast him to pieces, right here, right now!"

X…why? I looked up to you, and you were all I wanted to be. You were the mighty, yet passionate Maverick Hunter, who never hesitated to fight for the good of the people and shedding tears for the lost souls in the battlefield, be it enemy or ally. But why? Why are you doing this? Am I so worthless to you?

"X! Are you crazy?" Zero stood in front of me with his arms outstretched, as if to protect me shall X decide to shoot.

"Step aside, Zero." X declared, with a low, heavy voice, glaring at Zero. It wasn't a request. It was an order. He didn't move his buster aside or flinch at the sight of Zero objecting to what he was about to do.

Forget it. I probably am. Many people died because of me. I'm just a number, right? Just like everyone else. Is that all we are to you? Is that what Zero is to you, too?

Red's laugh interrupted my thoughts, and X turned to him.

"What now?" he yelled at Red.

"Go ahead and shoot him. We'll just disregard everything else and throw everything we've got at you, and everyone else. You said it yourself, he's valuable to us. Why would we let him die, or get away with you killing him?" Red responded before laughing again.

I heaved a big, relieved sigh, and couldn't help smirking as I watched X turned his buster arm to normal as he cursed. Even now, after my betrayal, Red still saved my life. I just hope I can save his in return.

"Damn it! So, what now? What do you want?" X yelled at Red, still glaring at him.

"Because obviously, the diplomatic solution isn't going to work anytime soon, what about we have a duel? The last faction standing gets to keep him, and probably keep the peace. If you win, we'll surrender. But if we win, let's just leave that to your imagination." Red answered, with a genuine victorious smirk this time. I'd like to think that he considered saving my life from X his little victory.

"NO! You can't do this!" X pleaded to Red, raising his voice to futilely hide that indeed, he is begging.

"Oh, yes, we can. You're no longer a Maverick Hunter, why would you even think that you have a say in this situation?" I had to bite my lip to prevent myself from chuckling when Red turned X's comeback against him, as if he had read my mind. "The one who does is our friend here. Right, Commander Signas? What do you say?" Red continued his speech, his good eye looking at Signas this time.

"I suppose we have no choice." Signas responded to Red, his gaze still calm, yet stern. "As much as we want to keep this as bloodless as possible, we have no guarantee that you won't cause further trouble when we return him to you. You didn't explicitly say that you'll sit back and become good boys if we give Axl back, didn't you?"

"Smart man." Red nodded, folding his arms, amused that someone managed to see through him. "So, we fight?"

"Yes. And if we win, as you had proposed previously, all of you will surrender to us. And I assure you, we're not going to lose." Even with his calm, collected response, without raising his voice, Signas was able to rouse me, convince me that we won't lose. Or maybe precisely because he's calm and collected amidst all the flames in this room, the stone wall when everyone is desperately grasping for something reliable to hold on to during a storm.

X slumped to his seat, going limp as his head hung, not letting anyone see his face. "Damn it!" he screamed. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why, why must reploids continue to fight, fight, and destroy?"

With a low chuckle, Red ended the transmission and the monitor turned blank.

Zero bit his lip, still standing in front of me, his arms lowered this time. He heaved a sigh and assumed a more relaxing posture.

"Commander Signas, your orders."

"Not yet, Zero. Alia, what's the situation?" Signas turned to Alia, who quickly opened the tracking program before connecting it to the monitor.

"As you can see, many mavericks have showed themselves and positioned themselves in various locations. The status now is uncertain. Right now, they're moving. They don't seem to be causing trouble now, as all they're doing is moving, and that's it. If we strike now, we're just going to take the fight where we shouldn't fight." Alia described the situation as shown in the map.

"Very well, thank you, Alia. It seems that indeed, they do have a sense of honour. For now, you are all dismissed. We wait until they're properly positioned." Signas made his statement.

"Commander, if I may, I request to take Axl under my responsibility, at least for the time being. He's going to be fighting with us, since, as we have previously established, he is a vital asset to Red Alert, and consequently a vital asset for us to win this battle as well."

I sighed in relief. I'm not going to be all alone in this base, and someone's going to walk me through this storm. I'm in deep shit already. The moment other hunters saw me in the corridor, they had already wished my death. X had turned batshit insane. And I'm alone in foreign territory. A territory that, in normal circumstances, would kill me. But Zero's here to make sure it's not going to happen. I'm not alone. It'll be okay. I can trust him with my life—I have, right?

"Yes, you may. I believe you are the one best suited for this task." Signas nodded. "I'll leave him to you, then."

"You're coming with me, Axl." Zero turned to look at me before slowly walking out of the room, and I followed him like an obedient duckling, and the door shut behind me after I left.

A few footsteps later, Zero broke the silence.

"Hey, Axl. About earlier, can you forgive X?" he looked at me with uncharacteristically soft eyes. "He's not always like that."

How do I respond? Of course I can't forgive him. I put him on a pedestal, and because he is, or was a man worthy of respect, right? And yet he had shown that he had no qualms killing me in front of Red if it meant that we didn't have to fight. It's true that my escape and this subsequent conflict will claim more lives. But did he really have to do that?

"I understand that it'll be hard. I can't expect you to forgive him that quickly." Zero interrupted my thoughts. It's like he could read them, though. Or am I so easy to read? But clearly, it's simple logic. After all, who would forgive THAT in the blink of an eye? No one could. But there is one thing certain for me.

"Thank you, Zero."

"Why are you thanking me? He didn't even shoot. If you have someone to thank, it's Red. The guy clearly cares for you more than anyone in the whole world. I couldn't stop X, anyway. Red was the one who did."

"But still, thank you. It made me feel I wasn't alone. Even until now, I feel that way. So, thank you for everything." I smiled at him. Probably my first smile for this whole day.

Zero turned away and nodded as he continued walking. "Anyway, let's go. We're almost there."

We arrived in front of a door. Zero placed his hand on an identification device placed beside the door, and the door opened.

Zero looked at me and started speaking. "I figured that because you're going to help us, we need to provide for you somehow. Can't have you sleeping in the corridors. That would be cruel."

I looked at the space behind the door. It's another corridor filled with doors, and the atmosphere is dreary. This must be…

"But we can't mix you with the hunter trainees, because you're not an official hunter yet, and I don't think they would tolerate your presence among them. We can't make you sleep in a storeroom either, you're not property. So this is all we could provide, and I hope it's OK." Zero stepped forward and opened one of the doors inside this new corridor.

I was right. It's a jail cell.

"This is one of the cells we use to hold captured mavericks. Don't worry; we won't do anything horrible to you here. This is just a room for you to put your belongings and generally stay. You can use the public recharge pods, and you can take my word for it." Zero stayed calm as he spoke, knowing that breaking out this news would make me uncomfortable on top of this hectic day, and he's trying to cushion the discomfort.

"For now, just stay here and rest. It's been a horrible day. As for tomorrow, I'll be waiting for you at 8 AM sharp outside this corridor. Are we clear?" Zero explained, still standing in front of the door.

"Yes, it is. Thanks again, Zero." I nodded.

"Well, good night, Axl. Tomorrow's a big day." Zero ended the conversation, closed the door, and left.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Another near-complete rewriting. I have nothing much else to say besides being satisfied with how well the conversation flows._


	8. Bonus Chapter 2: ICE

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED  
Bonus Chapter 2: Ice**

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _Surprise! A new rewrite-exclusive bonus chapter in X's perspective, because I feel like I need to shed the light on X's situation so you have an idea of what's going on with him. I know that his X7 self is out-of-character for him, but then again don't we all suddenly turn OOC when we're mad?_

* * *

I stepped into the 17th Elite Unit common room to find nobody there. Just the TV and the bunch of sofas, among other things. What even am I expecting, company? No one's on my side anyway. I should consider myself lucky to find the room empty. Why do I even come here, a common room, when I need a place to weep alone? Alia, Douglas, Gate and Zero are the only ones I could cry in front of. Everyone else would mock me and pick on me for having feelings.

I guess all I want is a shoulder to cry on. But do I even deserve one, or deserve the privilege to cry in the first place, like I'm the only one hurting, like I'm the one hurt the most by all this? This is all my fault, all of this happened because I existed. But I never wished for my own existence. Dr. Light was right about the world not being ready for anything like me at the moment he sealed me away, but he was wrong about when the world would be ready for me. But Dr. Light didn't decide that. Dr. Cain did. He was the one who opened my capsule and introduced me to the world. But who am I to blame him? He was an archaeologist, and as far as he, and the rest of the world was concerned, I was one hell of a discovery.

So whose fault is this really?

It definitely wasn't Axl's. If anything, I should've been happy he left Red Alert to aid us against them. I should've gotten off my high horse to congratulate him and ask him to fight with us instead of him asking to fight with us, because it took guts for him. It clearly did, because he had to leave Red, who clearly cares for him very much, and it must've eaten Axl a lot on the inside to do that. But why, why was I so nasty towards him? He didn't deserve that.

What is happening to me?

The sound of the door opening almost made me jump. I turned back to see Alia leaning against the wall.

"A-Alia…why are you here? Why didn't you knock?"

"I knocked many times and I didn't get an answer."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, X. I know today was a rough one on you. I came here to say that I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. I know you were hurting the most out of all of us." Alia gently apologized to me. I'm thankful for that, but do I even deserve it?

"That's okay, Alia. You were right, I was an idiot." I sat on one of the sofas with a sigh after ending that sentence. "What's wrong with us reploids, Alia? Why can't we stop ruining things for everyone? All humans and reploids united to rebuild the Earth after the disaster that was Eurasia. Even Gate joined in. But now that the world is mostly fine now, why did we abandon that spirit and continue to tear each other apart?"

Alia sat beside me before answering. "Well, X, you can say the same for humans. Even without any viruses to do the job, they tear each other apart, and it's been happening way before we came to existence. We learn our culture from them, so it's safe to say it's their fault."

"I don't understand. Why can't we learn from their mistakes? History serves the purpose of being evaluated so that future generations can learn not to make the same mistake, right? Time and time again people come into conflict. Why isn't it stopping? And why are we not learning from the humans' mistake?" I bombarded her with more questions and concerns, and she dutifully listened. For that, I am thankful.

"I guess it's one of the many questions that no one can answer." Alia replied, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up too much, X. Like Axl, you're just trying to do your best. And just like his, your decision didn't correct everything instantly."

"But did it correct anything in the first place?" I feel a bit horrible for pushing her like this in spite of her trying to make me feel better. But do I even deserve to feel good? "Ever since I retired, crime rate skyrocketed. I guess this fiasco with Red Alert really is my fault. They rose to significance because I retired, giving them room to fill the gap. At least Axl did something right. He gave us the advantage to win this fight, because he probably IS the advantage. Why else would they give everything they have to take him back?" I took a pillow beside me as I speak and hugged it.

Alia gently pat my back, showing me once again that she has the patience of a mountain. "To be honest, X, I still prefer that you return to the front lines. Because the thing that scares criminals most is you and Zero, especially you. As much as you may not like it, you've become too important to leave."

I buried my face in the pillow. I thought that it would be safe for me to retire when the world's safe and sound again, but apparently not. People have said it time and time again—I have potential. Why can't I use it to bring about world peace?

"I feel like a big idiot, Alia. All I've done is make things worse for everyone. Most hunters don't even look at me with respect anymore; they look at me like I'm a gross, slimy insect waiting to be squashed. I've made you and even Zero angry. We don't even talk or hang out as we used to. Is this really for the best?" I spoke, my voice muffled by the pillow that absorbed the tears I refused to show.

"I don't know what the future holds, X, nor can I make your decisions for you. You'll know in time, don't worry. I trust you." Alia gently comforted me as she patted my back again. "Don't think too much about it, now. Let's just calm down. Maybe some TV might help." Alia continued, picking up the remote and turning on the TV.

"And as you can see, Central Highway had been mostly destroyed by one mechaniloid. Six people died from this incident, and forensic officers have been trying to identify the bodies. As of now, today's traffic has been disturbed immensely, with hundreds of cars being stuck in Central Highway. Have reploids and mechaniloids gone out of control?"

"Oh, shit." Alia blurted out before turning off the TV, huffing when she noticed me lie down sideways on the sofa, still squeezing the pillow. Did I test her patience again?

"It'll be okay, X. This will all be over."


	9. Chapter 5: ORDER

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED  
Chapter 5: Order**

As soon as Zero had left the room, the first thing I did was remove my armour, put my guns away, set my internal alarm at 7:30 AM, and plopped on the bed, sleeping like a log in less than 10 minutes for the first time in ages. So many things had happened yesterday. I lost my brothers, ran away from Red Alert, got hit by two cars, fought Mega Scorpio with Zero, and got involved in a horribly heated debate. And my world turned upside down. No wonder I was tired, both mentally and physically.

Seeing a small yet spacious room in place of my bigger room back in the Crimson Palace upon opening my eyes upon waking up feels weird. It's just empty—well, almost. Just a bed, a small map on the wall and a small desk. The showers must be around this corridor somewhere. Damn, I forgot to shower yesterday.

My internal clock showed the time at 7:32. I still have some time before Zero comes here. I don't remember how I looked like yesterday, nor can I find out. There are no mirrors here, but I can't start the day looking sloppy. I had upset many people already. I don't want to upset their noses on top of that.

I got up from the bed to look at the map, and quickly found the showers. It doesn't look squeaky clean, but at least there were no cobwebs. It feels different from my bathroom, but at the same time not so different. It's still a bathroom, but obviously, my things aren't here. This place is dull, and I don't feel like singing here unlike how I used to do it back home.

By the time I step out of this room, I will be completely clean. I have cleaned my programming and my guns of DNA data as well the night before I left, keeping only the basic ones, so I can still disguise myself to blend in. I did it so that if I get caught or something, my formerly-huge library of DNA data won't be exploited by the Professor. He kept asking more and more DNA data, the bastard. He was huge and creepy, I would rather stare into the eyes of a dead fish than his eyes. I never knew what exactly did he do with my data, but after seeing my friends turn weird one by one, I know that I mustn't let his dirty hands touch any DNA data anymore.

It sucks a lot seeing that my guns won't be able to do any more cool transformations until I get more data, but it's better than being caught and used for more horrible things. Even though the formatting won't stop him completely, it might slow him down.

I turned off the water and quickly grabbed a towel, my internal clock telling me that I have about 10 minutes before Zero arrives. As there was no one else in the corridors, to my relief, I could hurry back to my room to prep myself better without needing to take the towel off my head.

Morning prep was simpler with only my armour and guns around. I had gulped nothing but E-tanks yesterday, so there's no morning breath to worry about. The first thing I saw upon leaving the corridor was Zero walking towards it. I was right on time.

"Good job, Axl." It was the first thing I heard from him. "Keep this up for the future. Today is just one of many big days."

I grinned. My remaining role model likes me well enough. "Thanks, Zero. What makes today big, though?" I asked.

"More talking. Important talk. There are still a lot of things that we don't know. For example, what makes you special? Why did you run away, and why are they after you?"

Oh hoh. Do I show him now and watch his eyes pop out of his sockets while there's no one to keep his cool for, or do I wait until we're in the command room so I don't have to do the job twice?

The answer is obvious. I can't pass up this opportunity. Transforming into one of my now dearly-departed brothers, I slowly smiled as Zero's eyes widened and his mouth slowly opened, forming an "O". Coupled with his red armour and long blond hair, he looks like Warfly's pet goldfish. At least Zero, like all reploids, doesn't shit. That damn fish shat everywhere in the bowl. Oh, what I'd do to have a camera right now just to photograph his face and frame it in my room, maybe show it to X, too. Old man needs to lighten up big time.

"What the actual fff…argh! No, Zero, you do not cuss in front of kids." I had to restrain myself from laughing after I heard Zero say that. He had tried to whisper to himself, but he didn't know I could hear him. What a shame, though. Even after what we had dealt with together, he still thinks I'm a kid? Oh well, he'll know better sooner or later. I may be way younger than him, but I'm not a kid anymore.

I reverted before explaining the whole thing to him. "I can transform into other reploids and use their DNA data to power myself, that's why."

"Everything makes sense now." Zero shook his head as he spoke. "Come on, Axl, let's go to the command room. As much as I want to hear the whole explanation now, I'm sure I'm not the only one."

As soon as we arrived in the command room, I saw X, Alia and Signas, still in the same positions as yesterday. But unlike yesterday, X wasn't tense or barely suppressing his anger. Instead, he is calm, and—what the hell? His eyes. His eyes. Impossible. Yesterday they were hideous flaming balls of hate directed to me and only me. I thought his eyes as they are now only appear in dreams, my broken dreams, my broken image of him, but why are those eyes clear, gentle and slightly sad, in spite of the still-present eye bags?

"Axl? What's wrong?" X's gentle voice stopped my thoughts and made me jump.

"I—nothing."

"Okay, then." X replied with a smile. Why? Why? Why? Impossible. And yet…

"Good morning, hunters." Signas started the meeting with a greeting. "As we have previously discussed yesterday, we are going to fight Red Alert with Axl's help. The last time we left off, we agreed to let Red Alert position themselves, and they have finished moving. However, some of them had decided to cause trouble. Alia."

"Yes, Sir." After her response, she quickly showed the map, and the members involved in this duel. It looks like Red's going all-out. The Eight Generals have been positioned around this city.

"Red Alert's eight generals have been spread around the area: Vanishing Gungaroo, Soldier Stonekong, Tornado Tonion, Splash Warfly, Flame Hyenard, Ride Boarski, Snipe Anteator and Wind Crowrang." Alia gestured to the screen, naming each of the generals.

"Gungaroo and Stonekong had positioned themselves in their respective bases. They haven't done anything troubling, but given that the forest is involved, Stonekong has to be stopped. Tonion has occupied an old radio tower and attempted to broadcast…things, all over the city. Warfly has deployed a few battleships in the ocean. He hasn't done anything yet, but he might cause damage to marine life. Hyenard has taken over a lava factory and planting bombs all over it. Boarski has positioned himself in the ruins of Central Highway and rigged it with bombs. Nothing from Anteator and Crowrang so far, although we expect to see them move or act soon."

Signas nodded and spoke again. "Thank you, Alia. Well, hunters? Anything to suggest?"

I instantly raised my hand. I know them better than anyone else here—how they were before I left, and what they might do as a result of the Professor messing them up, and what they will and will not do, having lived with them for ten years. I have similar concerns to everyone in here as well. Ever since Eurasia, nature has been highly coveted, and everyone wants them safe. Besides that, my escape has fucked up this city already, and no one wants more destruction.

"I know what to do and who to beat first, until the last. All the Red Alert generals have each other's weapons as their weaknesses. It is done so that if one of them goes M-Maverick, the comrade with the right weapon can retire them. But right now, they've all..." I looked away. Right now, as much as I want to deny it, they're not my friends anymore. They are Mavericks that I must retire. But does it have to be this way?

I inhaled and continued.

"I had been with them for a long time and I know them very well—and I also saw how they were like before I left base. Hyenard is a high priority. He was raving mad when I left base. Chances are, when he rigged those bombs, he was planning to blow himself up or something, because he wouldn't even let me approach him. But he's tough. He can make doppelgangers of himself. To avoid a tough fight, we need to get his weakness; Warfly's weapon.

Warfly's fairly easy to beat compared to the others. I'm pretty sure Zero will have no problems with fighting him. As for whom to beat after Hyenard, using his weapon, it's Boarski. And then, Anteator. After that, Crowrang, followed by Gungaroo. After Gungaroo, it's Stonekong, and lastly, Tonion. This order allows us to easily get rid of the bombs first too, because it's important that we prevent further destruction to the environment. I know Stonekong values nature as much as we do and probably even more, so he's not going to let any harm come to the forest."

"Any objections?" Alia looked up after typing—probably typing out what I said into the computer.

"No." Zero answered.  
"No, at least for now. When the circumstances change, we may have to change our strategy. But this looks good enough." X chimed in.

Jerk. What right do you have? You're not fighting with us. You don't know them, and you're not going to know our struggles later as much as we do, either.

"It's settled, then. We're going to do it this way." Signas approved of my strategy…good. I need to put Hyenard out of his misery first. True, I AM worried about what's he going to do with the lava factory—I was serious when I said he might blow himself up, taking the factory with him. And when he's angry or aggravated, he hits HARD. It's a good thing Stonekong and Tonion were at the last, because they're doing better than the others, last time I saw them, and I'm pretty sure they could wait a little longer. Right?

But I wish I didn't have to put them down. There's another way, isn't it? As much as I hate to admit it because of recent circumstances, I want peaceful ways too. I don't want to have to kill my friends and family. Surely, they can be saved. The Maverick Hunters is a government organization, with better access to more resources than Red Alert. Maybe, just maybe…

"If I may ask, do you have any technology that acts as a vaccine to the Maverick virus or something?"

"What?" Alia responded to me. "Why do you ask, Axl?"

"It's likely that the generals are causing all this trouble because they're infected with something. There's this Professor in Red Alert HQ that's been causing trouble for everyone, and we had been doing more horrible things to the point of breaking our own rules, all because of him. Maybe if we cure them, they'll stop."

Alia sighed and hung her head slightly before answering. "Unfortunately, even with our best efforts, such a program has yet to exist. Our lead researcher Gate has been trying his best to develop some sort of a vaccine program, but he has yet to succeed. So if they really are infected, we…"

"…I understand." before she could say "retire", I cut her off. Goddammit! I had thought that this might happen, but I really wish it didn't have to be this way. My friends and family, whom I grew up with have become enemies I have to kill? This is all that stinking Professor's fault! It's because of him that everything's gone to hell! When I see him, I will make him regret ever being created.

Maybe I can still save some of them. We'll recover, and after this everything's going to be okay again. Everything's going to be okay. I won't rest until I get my happy ending. That Professor wasn't toying with the Maverick virus, as far as I'm concerned, so even without a vaccine to the Maverick virus, something can still be done. Right?

"I'm sorry, Axl." she looked at me with sad eyes as she spoke. Zero placed his hand on my shoulder.

"That's fine. Then all we have to do now is to stop them and save them. And if we can't, we make sure they leave the Earth while they're still themselves." I responded, making myself clear that yes, I don't want to have to kill them.

Signas nodded and started speaking. "Very well. Now that we've gotten our strategy mostly settled, let's move on to other topics…"

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Overhauled the chapter completely, as always. I also moved the cutscene with Axl showing his powers to Zero much earlier, because it just makes more sense for him to tell Zero such an important thing early on. And y_ _es, Gate survives in my headcanon, because he wasn't infected, and Alia was able to convince the government (or whatever passed for one in X6) to spare him because the creator of the Nightmare virus knows best about it-including how to exterminate it. The next chapter won't be a fight. Given that, I believe that the fic will also experience a minor structure change in addition to a rewriting._


	10. Chapter 6: PAST

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED  
Chapter 6: Past**

"For starters, Axl." Signas spoke, leading us to another topic, apparently about me. "What makes you so important to Red Alert?"

I had to prevent myself from giggling when I saw Zero smirking like an idiot beside me, like he was waiting for everyone else in the room to make stupid goldfish faces so he wouldn't be alone.

"It appears Zero knows already." Alia muttered, and I snorted when I heard her.

"Yes, yes he does." I explained myself so that I don't look like an idiot for snorting like that all of a sudden. But then again, I probably kind of look like an idiot from that already. Oh well, soon they'll understand.

"Then you should start telling us." Signas told me. Zero elbowed me, saying "Do what you did back there." still with that dumbass smirk on his face. Alright…

I did the exact same thing I did with Zero—shapeshifting into one of my now-deceased brothers to show my ability. I watched as Alia jumped, X fell out of his chair, and Signas almost making another goldfish face—eyes wide, mouth open, just not in the shape of an "O" like Zero last time. Zero's laughter filled the room, and I grinned as I reverted.

Damn, I know they'd be surprised, but I really wasn't expecting their reactions to be this much of a riot.

X got up from the floor and sat on his chair again. "What on Earth…?" he weakly spoke, trembling a few seconds after he sat down, his wide green eyes staring at me like I'm a ghost.

"Well, everything makes sense now." Signas remarked, his expression returning to his usual calm expression.

"It's not just that, honestly. Basically, my special ability is to utilize reploid DNA data to power myself. Give myself new weapons, shapeshift, all that stuff." I explained before taking both of my guns. "These guns that I've had with me ever since I knew I was alive, they can transform into other guns or combine into one big gun, upon being programmed with DNA data.

Unfortunately, this power isn't without its limits. Even though I get better and get more features the more I use this power, as of now I'm still unable to shapeshift into reploids noticeably bigger than me, like Commander Signas. But at least I can still utilize their powers when I get their data. I can also give the data I've gathered to other people, which was what started this whole thing."

"I suppose we have two questions in hand now." Alia responded. "First, I still would like to see the full extent of your power. Second is that it would be nice for you to tell us how everything started, because we didn't get to hear it last time."

"As much as I want to show you, I can't." I replied. "I formatted my DNA data library and only spared the basic ones because of the whole conflict."

"The conflict comes first, then." X said. Ugh, hearing his voice speak about conflict grates on my ears. Is he going to point his buster at me again when he hears the whole story?

I cleared my throat before starting the explanation. "Alright. So way back, Red Alert was a mercenary and bounty hunter group. Still illegal, but at least we're not destroying whole cities. As with many illegal organizations, criminal or no, we rose after um, X's retirement. We got even more business than ever, and that was when this crazy, son-of-a-bitch Professor approached us, promising power.

He kept asking me for more and more DNA data to be used for upgrades for seven of the Eight Generals. I was sceptical because so far, no one's ever used DNA data before, except for me. I was afraid that he might have messed them up, and my fears were confirmed when the Generals started turning weird. Some of them had trouble fighting; others experienced a change in behaviour.

But it turns out that it's less incompetence and more intentional rigging when he made us do things we normally wouldn't do, or else it would take more time to return them to normal. When he forced us to break our code of honour, I…I had to…"

No, no, no, no. The screaming, I can hear it in my ears. No, there's no one to help you. I'm sorry. We've sealed the exit and busted your communication network, please stop screaming, please don't run, we'll make this fast, I'll make this fast. I'm sorry. You don't deserve to die. But you have to die so that my friends can be normal again. But you don't deserve to die. But I have to kill you. But then, does this make me a bad guy? Does this make me maverick? I've killed innocents, many many innocents. My armour, it's all red and it smells like rusted iron. Is that what human intestines look like? The thing in front of me, scattered all over the floor—oh, there's one more, one more innocent soul I have to kill, and then this will all end. Please don't run. Don't scream, it will be over soon…

"Axl, wake up! Axl! Axl!" who…whose voice is this? I was with Red and the others, not with you. But why can I hear your voice so clearly…?

My body shook. My head roughly bobbed like a puppet's. I feel two strong hands gripping my shoulders. The sight of the corpse-filled corridor faded into the Maverick Hunters' command room, and X's face was in front of me.

"Axl, are you okay?" he spoke to me again gently, having shaken me back to reality.

"Wha…" I blurted out. "I…I don't know…I don't know…" my teeth chattered. I trembled when I recognized that I'm not there anymore. I'm not killing innocent people anymore. I'm with the Maverick Hunters, I'm not with Red Alert anymore, and I'm going to stop them from having to dirty their hands even more. I'm not there anymore, I'm not there anymore, I'm not there anymore…

Warm. Someone's gripping me, pulling me close, stopping my trembling. What? Why? I can't move. X? Why are you hugging me?

"It's okay. I understand how it feels, how much it hurts. I know because I had been doing it for years." he gently spoke to me, still hugging me.

What the hell, X? You go through this over and over again for many, many years since you started maverick hunting or something? Tell me you're joking. Before this, I had been a mercenary for 10 fucking years. I spent that much time killing people, legitimately maverick or no, for profit, and that experience broke me good, gave me many nightmares. I almost went insane if I'm not insane already. How are you still here, and not in a robotic asylum or something?

Tell me you're joking. Please. For someone to go through that for many years, even before I was created…I can't believe it, I can't!

"For years, X…?" I weakly spoke to him, my voice a bit raspy. "How long? How long exactly?"

"I don't know anymore, Axl. But I had been doing this even before Eurasia. I think…at least 40 years." X gently replied to me.

"Aha…ahahahaha…you've got to be kidding me, X. You've got to be fucking kidding me. I almost went crazy just from that one experience, and you're here and sane after going through that bullshit for 40 years plus?" I responded, choking down my sobs. How, X? How? How can one go through that much shit and stay sane?

But then again, you probably weren't exactly sane when you went loco yesterday.

"It wasn't easy. I don't think I can be called sane anymore, perhaps. I hate the sound of fireworks, among other things. But let's not talk about me. It's not about me. It's about you now." X replied, letting go of the hug when he finished.

I watched him walk back to his seat, slowly catching my breath—what the hell, why is Alia getting off her seat like she suddenly found out someone rigged a bomb on it and running to the window?

All four of us stared at her staring out the window until she broke the silence.

"Gentlemen…I think you should see this."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Not only is this the chapter that marked my layout change, I also combined elements of two chapters at once, unintentionally. But the story just flows so well this way, because in such a situation, everyone would be informed of mostly everything, so I really expect Axl to tell them everything at the beginning instead of spreading everything between post-battle chatter, and even then, he'd tell everyone, not just Zero. The next chapter's not the fight with Warfly, either. I just have to cut the meeting scene again._


	11. Chapter 7: FUTURE

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED  
Chapter 7: Future**

Alia looked back and stepped aside when she noticed all four of us walking towards the window.

I got there first, and before I could focus, Zero pushed me aside a bit so he could see. I could feel a hand gripping my shoulder, and I looked back to see X, who was trying to get between Zero and me. And then I saw Signas squatting so he could see, too. And then I heard Alia's muffled giggling.

I snorted again and looked out the window again when I heard a "What the hell…?" from Zero.

Indeed, what the hell.

There are so many reploids lining up in front of the entrance of Maverick Hunters HQ—enough to fill a small army, perhaps. They were neatly lining up, and from there I could see colours. Black, blue, red…wait, what the—Red Alert members? But how? And they're not carrying weapons. In fact, the guys in front of the lines are carrying white flags!

"What the actual fuck?" I blurted out.

"Zero! Did you curse in front of him?" X turned to Zero and yelled at him.

"Hell, no! I don't curse in front of kids!" Zero yelled back.

"More importantly, why the hell are Red Alert members lining up in front of HQ, with white flags?" I looked at the two and told them what was on my mind.

"Those are Red Alert members? But we just announced a duel yesterday. To give up this easily would be stupid of them. This must be a trap. But if it is a trap, they wouldn't expect us to fall for it. No one would be that stupid." Signas commented.

"Axl, they're not carrying bombs, aren't they?" Zero asked me.

"Nope, suicide bombing is always a last resort." I replied. "We're all curious, alright, but none of us want them to blow up HQ or something, so I'll go down there and see what's going on."

"Not alone. What if they snatch you and drag you back to Red Alert? I'm coming with you." Zero responded.

"They're carrying white flags. Maybe they want to negotiate? I'm going down there, too." X said.

"Go ahead, boys. I'll just be here with Commander Signas watching from above. If anything goes wrong, I'll call for backup. If you need it, that is." Alia chimed in as she set the monitor to show the feed from the outside camera.

X, Zero and I stepped out to the entrance of Maverick Hunters HQ to see Boarski's, Tonion's, Gungaroo's, Warfly's, Crowrang's, and Anteator's squad members. What the hell are they doing here, and why are they not with their commanding officers? And where are Stonekong's and Hyenard's guys?

"Captain Axl, Sir!"

What the hell? I've been branded a traitor. Why the hell are you guys still addressing me as Captain, and why are you still saluting me like I'm still in Red Alert? Why? What is the meaning of this?

But still, they're giving me respect. I can't look like an idiot when they're still…

Standing upright, I saluted them back, and addressed all of them. "Ladies and gentlemen. What brings all of you here? And I've already left Red Alert as a traitor. Why are you still treating me like I'm still Captain?"

One of Warfly's men, Markus, raised his hand before replying.

"Your escape from the Crimson Palace gave us all hope, Sir. You weren't the only one who noticed that Red Alert had been going downhill ever since that damn Professor arrived. Because of the Professor, what we built was slowly disintegrating before our eyes, and it was only a matter of time before we went down with it. We wanted to go, but we were too scared—Red Alert was our home. We were a close-knit family.

But then you left. You and your brothers. That was when it struck us that we've been cowards for so long. We've broken a few codes of honour—went against our rules. Red Alert just wasn't the same anymore, and right now it's truly a disgusting organization. It's not the same home we grew up in. It's gone up in flames, and we have to leave, too.

But not all of us wanted to leave. Some of us wanted to go down with it. It's their choice, so we couldn't drag them. They let us leave as well, and decided to help us keep our plans from Red and the generals. When we heard that you were with the Maverick Hunters, we figured we'd help you with your attempt to stop Red Alert before it trashes the whole city. As for us, we just want to start new lives. We may have committed crimes with Red Alert during our time there and we don't know what surrendering can do to help us, but this is our only way to show that we want to start over."

What…you guys, you guys are…all this time, we had felt the same way about this whole affair? I'm not alone. I'm not alone. I'm not alone, I'm not alone, I'm not alone, I'm not alone. This problem, this escape attempt, this attempt to put down Red Alert before everything turns into total shit, I thought it would be too big for me to handle…you guys have been on my side all along and you're going to help?

Ahaha…ahahahaha…

My tears blurred my sight, but I could still make out the sight of a few now-former members wiping theirs.

I don't usually cry. But this is a special occasion.

"We didn't just leave without doing anything to help, Sir!" I wiped my tears upon hearing that voice, and when I turned to the speaker, it was Tanaka, from Boarski's gang. "All of us had decided to give Red Alert's remaining resources to help all of you, and each squad has done something specific to help as well. As for my squad, we had extended the bombs' timers. We couldn't turn them off, or else Chief Boarski would have noticed and killed us all. As you have noticed, the Professor's meddling made him a monster. Please put him out of his misery, Sir!" Tanaka bowed down upon finishing his speech.

"We depowered the mechaniloid assigned for Tonion's use. Strangely, when he noticed us, he just told us to carry on…so we did, and he even saw us off! He never told us anything about why he's behaving this way, though. If you can ask him to tell you what's going on, please pass it on to us!" June, one of Tonion's "little juniors", spoke up.

"We rigged everything assigned for Captain Warfly, Sir!" Markus loudly hollered, saluting me again. "He wouldn't know what hit him! And even if he does, he would let you see the full spectacular, anyways!" Roaring laughter from the rest of Warfly's former squad members followed, some of them high-fiving each other. This squad never ceases to amuse me. Warfly may be a douchebag, but damn if his squad members don't make good drinking buddies.

"We rigged the Ride Armours Captain Gungaroo had decided to provide for you to make it more powerful. Captain Gungaroo also knows that something's wrong with Red Alert, but he decided to stay in his position just for the duel. We have faith that you will honour his wish, Captain!" Kim, a member of Gungaroo's squad, spoke up.

It appears that even now, Gungaroo still held the promise we made to each other to heart. I don't blame him. I just wish I could've told him before I left that yes, I remember, too, and I still intend to keep it. I'm just glad I have the chance to keep it. I hope he's still himself by the time I get there. He'll be mad at me, but maybe not. He understands.

"We cut Professor Anteator's Cyber Field into a much shorter and straightforward maze, Sir!" It was Rin's turn to speak, as a member of Anteator's trainee programmers.

"Master Crowrang had opened a path for you to come to him, and all of us had helped him. As for us, we are simply part of the group who wanted to leave. The rest who wanted to go down with him will stay there as your bridge." Yamaguchi, one of Crowrang's men, informed us.

We're all in this together, aren't we? Even the Generals…well, some of them, that is. Speaking of people who aren't there…

"What about Hyenard's and Stonekong's guys?" I asked.

"Hyenard's gang stayed there to protect the lava factory workers they had evacuated, as well as stay there to constantly assure Hyenard that they're…working on exploding the factory. He wanted to kill himself, that's why he placed all those bombs there…" Rin revealed the truth to us, holding back her tears. "Please help him! He's suffering…"

Goddammit, Hyenard. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for not putting you down the last time I saw you. I'm sorry for letting you suffer. Don't worry, you're the first one we're putting down, just hold out a little longer…

"I assure you, we had planned to put him down before everyone else." I replied, and the other former members started heaving sighs of relief, some of them hugging each other.

"As for Stonekong's group, Sir…they gave us this." Yamaguchi spoke to me, and handed me a letter. "Please read it aloud so that the Maverick Hunters, too, can hear what they had to say."

I cleared my throat and started reading it.

"We decided to tell General Stonekong our plan—we can't bear to hide anything from him, he is our father more than anyone else. He said he approved of our plan, but he wanted to go down with Red Alert and "die like an old soldier", and told us to live an honest life without him.  
We begged him to come with us, but he refused, and we had to accept it. He's not even creating much trouble, so there really is nothing much for us to do but assure you that everything will be OK. As for us, we're going to stay here and look after this forest. Good luck, Captain Axl."

Goddammit, Stonekong, goddammit…why? You don't have to die, but then again, it's probably what you want, isn't it? I can't stop you. I can never figure you out 100%, but damn if you're not one of the kindest people I've ever known.

"Damn it, Stonekong…" I muttered under my breath. Inhaling for another speech, I swallowed.

"I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for committing acts of bravery for Red Alert. Even though we're not officially part of the group anymore, we have given our hearts and ourselves together for our family. Good things have to come to an end sooner or later, and now you can rest easy knowing that you have done your part. As for me, I will do my best to do mine and make sure this whole storm ends as swiftly and as cleanly as possible. All of you are dismissed, forever! Fare well, my brothers and sisters!"

I saluted to them again after I ended my speech, and they saluted back. And then, we heard static and crackling sounds.

"Greetings, former members of Red Alert. I am the commander of the Maverick Hunters, Signas. As you spoke of what you have done to assist our attempt to put down Red Alert, we have verified that you have spoken the truth. In order to honour your bravery and moral acts, the Maverick Hunters are not going to retire you. We will make sure that your deeds are noted and considered. I repeat; all of you may live.

Our mission to retire Splash Warfly will begin soon. While our hunters and your former captain do the job, we will process your individual cases and make decisions accordingly. The gates to your new lives are open. You may enter."

As soon as Signas stopped speaking from the intercom, we heard the entrance to HQ open, and we cheered loudly. I jumped up, because who wouldn't be happy in this situation? Everyone who had wanted to live and tried their darnedest to make amends get to live and redeem themselves, like a dream come true. And I had inspired them to do this.

"I'm so happy, Zero…they don't have to die…" I could hear X's sobbing, muffled because he was squeezing Zero like no tomorrow.

X, too, huh? I guess he's still as compassionate as he used to be. Or did he descend all the way down to hell because he's compassionate?

I'll think about it later.

Stepping aside to make way for fellow former Red Alert members, I grinned as I watched them happily marching into HQ.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:**_ _Okay, I know this new chapter is going to be feelsy, but not this feelsy. I got nostalgic flashbacks, and I'm really proud of how I showed a bit of Axl's background in this chapter. I kind of combined one-and-a-half chapters into one and expanded them. The resulting chapter ended up huge, but I still like it._


	12. Chapter 8: VOYAGE

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED  
Chapter 8: Voyage**

Immediately after we returned to the command room after I spoke to my fellow defectors, Signas had decided that our meeting was over. I was clearly in no state to properly explain the conflict, so it would have to be saved for another time, and the Maverick Hunters have enough information for now anyways.

And so here I am, with Zero beside me, standing on Warfly's battleship convoy. The remaining members of Warfly's squad were there in full battle armour, standing still. We stared at each other for a while before they saluted us. I saluted back first, and managed to catch sight of Zero briefly glancing towards me before saluting back. To compensate for being saluted at first, I decided to greet them first.

"Gentlemen."  
"Captain Axl, Sir. And is that Maverick Hunter Zero we see?" one of them replied.  
"Yes, that is true."  
"What a surprise. We know we'd die in a fight honourably, but to be graced with Master Zero's presence…this will be one hell of a death. I'm sure the rest who decided to stay will feel the same way when we get to them." the same guy replied again.  
"Hell, yeah! We get to be the first!" another one of them chimed in.  
"Motherfucker! Do you think this is a party?" the one beside the second guy elbowed him as he grumbled.  
"You're always a bore. We're leaving this world, so it's a big deal, you know? It's always best to go with a biiiig, goddamn BANG!" the second dude pulled out four bombs instead of the usual one, two in each hand.

"A bang you asked for, a bang you get." I replied with a smile, pulling out both of my guns, shooting the bombs in his hands immediately afterwards. He exploded with a big "YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Not wasting time, eh? Then let's do this. I wanna die like a stoic badass." the third guy who had elbowed, who was injured from the explosion and barely avoided most of it, replied before glancing at Zero.

"Wish granted." Zero responded before dashing towards him, quickly slicing him in half.

"As for me…I want to see the sea as I die. Just scratch me and move forward, Gentlemen. We had prepared one hell of a theme park for you." the first guy requested. I granted it by shooting his abdomen, knocking him overboard.

We dashed towards the end of the ship, and as soon as we got fairly close to it, the ship watchtower fell down, revealing two other ships a few distances away from this one.

"Holy shiii…take mushrooms." Zero huffed out, as he almost jumped. "This isn't a duel. This is suicide."  
"Heh. You can cut it out, Zero, as much as X and Alia might not want you to. I'm not a kid anymore, you know?" I spoke to him, smirking.  
Zero nodded, before glancing at the watchtower. "Axl, look." he said, pointing at an actual graffiti he had caught sight of after the watchtower fell down. I tilted my head sideways to read it. "We're not letting that fucking Professor use these after we're gone!"

"Everything makes sense now. Let's not waste time." Zero stoically replied, dashing forward, close to the end of the ship. I followed him, and we stopped when we were greeted by one of Warfly's "pets", a fighter aircraft. It was pinned down to a platform, spinning.

Wait, what?

It was…. Pinned to a spinning platform on the ship floor. Which spinned. The fighter AIRCRAFT. And then I heard static from it, and the static turned into…

"Trolololo lololo lololo…hohohohoho!"

"AH HAH HAH…"  
I couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing then and there, hunching over and clutching my stomach. I looked up to see Zero looking at me like I was crazy, but dammit, it's way too hilarious. But at the same time, it feels so wrong. We're supposed to be killing off the rest of Warfly's men. But then they turned this into a hilarious affair. Is it to cushion the sadness, though?

Maybe. They've always been like this.

"Axl! Stop it! Didn't I just tell you not to waste time?" Zero yelled at me, thumping my back. "You're being very childish right now, you know that?"

"Give me a break, Zero; even adults need to enjoy a few jokes now and then. Besides, they're probably trying to make us forget that, as you said, this 'battle' is actually an assisted suicide. When you think of it, it makes you sad, you know?" I replied, aiming both of my guns at that ridiculous fighter aircraft, shooting at it. "Those three guys we just killed made it obvious that they don't want a festival of tears. The ocean's got enough salty water already. We don't need to add more."

Zero nodded and dashed forwards before jumping up towards the aircraft. He landed on top of it and sliced the basic, non-detachable guns on the aircraft before jumping down and said, "Give them the bang they want, Axl."

"Understood!" I squeezed the triggers of my guns, firing at the aircraft until it exploded with a big "TROLOLOLOLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Dammit, guys. That was fantastic.

My snickering was interrupted by the sound of an explosion from the distance, and then the ship floor shook.

"Whoa!" I blurted out. Just what's happening? And why is it hot in here?  
"Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?" Zero spoke.  
"No shit, Zero. Let's go look."

We dashed away to find that one of the ships from before had nudged this ship, but unlike before, it was already in flames, and so are the men on the ship.

Wait, what?

"GUYS! WHAT THE HELL?!" I yelled at them. What are they doing? This is just ridiculous! This is a slow and agonizing death. What…just what?

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" they laughed as the fire burned them.  
"I guess you could say that our attempt to die a glorious death is…" one of them spoke up in a sing-song tone.  
"WELL-DONE." the rest continued at the same time, seconds before they descended to our ship, their backs coated in flames. Before the fire reached their heads, we killed them.

Goddammit, guys. I thought Warfly's guys were tough, but I never thought they're THIS tough. It's like they know no fear.

"Are all Red Alert members like this?" Zero spoke to me, his eyes narrowed.  
"No. It's just Warfly's group. He trained them hellishly, and as a result they're tough as nails. Battles are like games to them, and it's like they don't feel pain. I guess that's why they party hard, too. Because they have every right to be proud of themselves." I replied to him. "Let's go, Zero."

Quickly running to the end of the burning, heavily damaged ship, we took care of the three dragon blasters equally quickly afterwards. We jumped to the ship behind it to destroy the last remaining mechaniloid: Warfly's "reliable old friend". Because it only had its most basic guns installed, we quickly got rid of it, too.

"I still don't feel that it's right…everything's too easy right now, even for a suicide. But at the same time, it IS a suicide…" Zero remarked as he watched the humanoid bridge explode.

Wait, what's that little blue thing leaving the shi—oh, it's Warfly. Always like this when battles don't turn out the way he wanted. I wonder if he trained his men to be tough so they can turn the tables for him.

"Axl…? I think we have to run away now…" Zero called out to me, turning my head to the humanoid bridge. It's glowing, and…and…

Oh, shit.

I felt a huge arm pulling me away, and then water. Shortly afterwards, I heard a huge explosion. But I can't see anything, including the debris, because...what's that blocking my view? Bushy and yellow—oh, Zero's hair. He grabbed me and jumped, didn't he?

But Warfly's at his most powerful underwater and the Professor must have fixed him up, so he can dive for as long as he wants again. Zero, I have to tell you, but I can't talk like this, let me go. Swim up, goddammit!

Feeling me struggle in his grip, he swam up and let me go when we were at the surface.

"What the hell, Axl? I thought reploids don't have to hold their breath underwater?" Zero asked me, his eyebrows raised.  
"It's not that, Zero, of course I can. I just can't talk underwater, and there's something important I have to tell you." I replied to him while I swam to the nearest big piece of debris.

Apparently, all three ships had exploded—the only thing I could see was debris. Most of them were floating bits of cargo, or too small to stand on. There were three pieces of debris big enough to stand on. After being close enough to one of them, I climbed up it, Zero following.

"So? What is it?" Zero asked me again.  
"Warfly's sneaky. Very sneaky. And because of that, he's most powerful underwater. Stay underwater for too long, and the next thing you know, he's jabbed a vital spot."  
"Where is he now?"  
"Probably ran away. Before the humanoid bridge exploded, I saw him jump off the ship."  
"This is bad. I don't know what he's going to do once he's out of here. I don't want him to cause trouble by burglarizing citizens or something—"

Wait. What's that blue thing behind Zero—oh no!

"Zero, watch out!" I screamed as I pushed Zero sideways with all my strength. Fortunately, my attempt to stop Warfly's attempt to backstab him succeeded, even though Zero is bigger and more heavily armoured than me.

"Heh. Heh heh heh. Heard you were talking shit." Warfly huffed. "You're always like this, you bratty piece of shit. This is why I hate you. Always bursting my bubble. This is the way of assassins like you and me, you know? Never let your target know. And you call me a coward."

"We're no longer on the same side, so I can burst your bubbles whenever the fuck I want. And I don't flee when things go bad, unlike you! I bet you train your guys the way you do so they can make things better while you run away, you heartless son of a bitch!" I screamed at him.

I can never forget that gang war when both of our squads were assigned to a battle. When we were ambushed, Warfly was the first to run away with his tail between his legs. Me, my brothers and Warfly's men stayed, and used up all our firepower to decimate the enemy forces. Only when there were less than 5 left, Warfly returned and claimed the last kills.

I couldn't stop myself from beating him up afterwards, looking at how he casually did all that while the rest of us risked life and limb, and some of us actually lost them. I remember the sight of one of my brothers who lost one of his eyes, another who lost both legs…and then his men weren't spared either. In fact, they got the worst of it. I remember one of them who kept shooting with his mouth after he was reduced to a torso and a head. How dare he let this happen? How can he sleep at night, knowing he's indirectly hurt many people this way?

"Aww, is the little cherub angry? Allies of justice like you don't belong in the battlefield! War is hell, you know. That's why, to win it all, you gotta become the devil! If you want to be an ally of justice, why don't you join X and dream of fairy tales together?"

Warfly's speech earned him a hard punch in the face from Zero. It was so hard, it knocked him back underwater.

"Heard you were talking shit." Zero grunted. "Axl was right. You ARE a heartless son of a bitch! X is…X is the kindest person I've ever known. Talk shit about him, and I'll make you regret ever having a mouth!"

I winced when I heard Zero yell. So much anger in that voice…

I looked around for Warfly. As much as I want to declare that we're not like each other at all, we're both assassins who kill stealthily. We were lucky one of us noticed him before the damage was done. The next time, I don't want to have to count on luck.

"Zero, behind you!" Noticing Warfly behind us, I ran sideways as I yelled at Zero.

"Don't pretend you're not angry at him, Zero. I can see it…you're sick of having to shoulder all the work alone, fighting all alone. The way I see it, he's just like me. Running away when things are at its hardest, leaving his comrades alone to do the work. Have you ever considered the possibility that X is the heartless son of a bitch, and that you're just retarded because you can't see it?" Warfly taunted Zero as he ran towards him, gripping his naginata tightly.

Zero blocked Warfly with his bare hands, quickly snatching his naginata and breaking it in half. "No. Never. Because I am not stupid, and because unlike you, I actually have a heart! Axl, now!"

I wordlessly answered by shooting Warfly with both guns. When Warfly was glowing, about to explode, Zero let him go and dashed towards me.

And then, he exploded. Without anyone beside him.

What the hell, he's still writhing?

"My death…isn't making anyone cry at all. Per…fect…" those were the last words he calmly, blissfully spoke before he stopped moving.

Is this why you're such a horrible person, Warfly? So people won't get sad if you die? If it is so, then why don't you fucking tell me from the beginning? No. I'm not giving you that victory, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not…

We could've gotten along, you know?

* * *

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _This chapter's really hard to rewrite, mostly because of the action I had to describe. There isn't much feelings when you're actually fighting, but I feel I've done my best for this chapter. Sorry for the loooong update gap! My dissertation was driving me crazy._


	13. Chapter 9: PORT

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED  
Chapter 9: Port**

"You took his DNA data with you, Axl? I thought you hated him." Zero gently spoke to me after we had left the R&D room.

"I…even though he's a douchebag, he's still part of the family. It would be unfair of me to exclude him." I replied as calmly as I could. It's hard to speak with a straight face while struggling to hold my tears back, but I think I managed just fine.

"Well, if that's what you say." Zero said.

"Why are you following me, anyway?" I asked him as I looked back at him. Surely, he's not staying in the same place as me.

"Well, you say he's part of the family, right? Losing a family member is always tough. You can't deal with grief alone, you know." Zero gently answered.

"He-he's a big jerk. Always been. It's not a big loss."  
"Even if you don't want to talk about him, I have a few things to talk to you about, anyways."  
"Alright…you win, Zero. What is it?" I asked as I opened the door to the jail corridor. "Let's talk inside."

We entered my "room", and Zero shut the door behind me. Sitting on the "bed", I stared at him, waiting for the answer to my question.

When I saw him bit his lip, I spoke again. "You had nothing particular in mind, didn't you?"

"Is it such a bad thing? It's not healthy to be all alone after being traumatized, you know. Especially if you're the center of a huge conflict like this. I saw what happened to you in the meeting back there, and I don't want to see it again." Zero replied to me sternly, his arms folded.

"No. No it isn't. Thanks for your concern. Problem is, I don't know what to talk about, either." I responded to him with a smile.

"Speaking of the meeting, that reminds me. After all of this is over, what are you planning to do? Your fellow former members seem to have plans…do you?"  
"I…"

I want to join the Hunters. But will you allow it? I'm…I'm a criminal.

"That's okay, Axl. Just tell me. I won't tell anyone else unless you want me to."

I can't. I can't, but…someday I'm going to have to tell someone if I really want to, right? Might as well start now.

"I want to join the Maverick Hunters." I finally replied.

"Why, Axl? You could've stayed out of fighting and conflicts altogether. Sometimes we put infected mavericks out of their misery, but these days the job's getting closer to murdering people, you know? That's what messed X up so much." Zero raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes.

"No, Zero. You don't understand—"

"YOU don't understand! It's dangerous to be involved in a lifestyle like this, you know? When you're involved, the people you treasure will also be involved. They'll get hurt, and even worse, die. Do you really want a life like that?" Zero snapped at me. Excuse me…

"The one who doesn't understand is you. Fighting has always been my life. And anyone who enters my life better know and accept that if they want to stay; and they better be strong enough not to die." I replied, glaring at him. How dare he? I know he's probably gone through so much bullshit. But he really could've, and should've, listened to me.

"What's your reasoning, then? You're a copy reploid! You can learn whatever, just by copying whoever. You can work in a myriad of jobs that don't require killing people, just like X. What I'd give for that ability…"

"True, but I don't want my value to be determined by how well I imitate people. I want to be my own person, you know? True, I can do a lot of things, but it's not my own power. If I only depend on my copy ability, I'm fucked once my DNA library is formatted, like how I am now. If I can't do anything outside what my DNA library supplied me, I'm just a big nobody.  
Meanwhile, gun-fighting is the only skill I never copied someone else to master. Red found me with the guns I use to this day. I feel that it's my calling in life, and no horrifying experience has proved me wrong." I explained as calmly as possible. Even though I'm pissed at how Zero shot me down and judged me so easily, I can't snap at him. He has his own reasons, much like me.

"Then why don't you learn something else? You're a reploid, right?"

"When I finally have the time, of course I will. But for now, I want to atone for what I had done as a Red Alert member. You remember the Shadow Murderer case from ages ago?"

"Yeah…that case where company executives in the pharmaceutical industry die mysteriously except for one. And then every crime scene was always full of dead people and there were no witnesses whatsoever—everyone who could have been a witness was killed on the spot. Don't tell me…"

"Yep, it was all me. And the survivor? Dude hired Red Alert, specifically asked for me to do the job. And now he's monopolizing the whole goddamn industry. And Red Alert assassins like me just happen to have the code of killing every immediate witness.  
Just the perfect guys for the job. Contract said that the client will be held responsible for the killings if they're busted and they're not allowed to expose us, or else…" I ended my speech by making a hand motion to evoke the image of decapitation.

"What the actual fuck, Axl?"

"And that case is only big because the ones murdered were big execs, you know? The Shadow Murderer's been around for a long time before, and had continued doing such a good job for a long time afterwards, because many of his victims' cases were never even considered as one worth a damn. But am I proud of it? No. Hell, no."

"Then why did you do that kind of fucked-up shit anyways? Profit, right? You trade lives for profit. That's the kind of business mercenaries do." Zero raised his voice, and he moved closer to me.

You hate me, don't you? A cold-hearted assassin like me, who would murder a child walking in on the job, and had done so more than once. It's okay, Zero. I know you hate me for it. Because I do, too. And I want to stop.

"As I have said before, Red Alert is my family and I love them. I'd be the biggest sinner in the world if it meant their happiness and safety. And as you have known, I've done that. Many times over, for all of ten years, I had become part of the world's cruelty, all for them.  
It hurts and I don't like the acts themselves, but I endured. But now I have no reason to continue to be a gigantic murderous bastard, because Red Alert's pretty much gone. So now, I want to be a good man."

Zero was silent as he sat down beside me calmly. I waited for him to answer for a while until he spoke up again. "Go on."

Listening to me now, eh? Alright…

"I used to hate this world, you know? How cruel it can be, and how it forces you to be part of its cruelty if you want to live. And I hated myself for that, too. So much, I felt that I would be doing the world a favour by just disappearing. But at the same time, I didn't want to die. Not before I do something good to clean my spirit. But then I saw you guys. Maverick Hunters who fight and kill just like me, but you guys do it to protect the people who can't protect themselves.

The Maverick Hunters convinced me that there is hope for the world, that there is a place for people like me. I used to hate myself for knowing nothing much outside of fighting. I wanted to learn new things, but there was no room for me to because of how busy Red Alert was shortly after Eurasia, and I had been so accustomed to fighting, I grew to love it. Knowing that the Hunters exist convinced me that I'm not such a piece of shit after all. I want to join the Hunters because I want to keep doing what I'm doing, just for good this time."

I slowly looked at Zero, who quickly looked away when he saw me looking at him.

"I'm sorry." Zero gently apologized.  
"It's fine, Zero. You didn't know, just like how I don't know you enough. I suppose we can call it a day? We're fighting Hyenard tomorrow. It'll be extra hard. Next time, you tell me about yourself too, okay?"  
"Deal. I'll tell you my side of the story next time. Until then, just remember that we're not completely warriors of justice who can do no wrong, either." Zero answered, looking back at me before he left the room, shutting the door behind him. "Good night, Axl."

"Good night."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Double update to make up for my long absence from before, and to prepare for ANOTHER long absence later on, because exams and other personal projects. :x I always wanted to show this side of Axl. Well, at least the side of Axl as I think he is. It's a bit hard to add in more thoughts when Axl's having a conversation, because he almost always speaks his mind. He's honest, unless he's in a mission where he has to lie._


	14. Bonus Chapter 3: BLOOD

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Bonus Chapter 3: Blood**

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_**

 _Holy shit. I intended to update PMGR on late October, but just as I was finished with my exams, I was plagued with ear infections for a week (First it was the right ear, and just as the right ear was getting better, the left followed. I had to see a doctor and had trouble sleeping because THE PAAAAIN!). So it got delayed…sorry!_

 _And now, a bonus chapter in Zero's perspective…_

* * *

Having woken up earlier than usual at 6 AM unlike my usual 7 AM, I made my way to the R&D room.

"Oh, morning, Zero! Here you go." Douglas greeted me as soon as I walked in the door, handing me a piece of Splash Warfly's naginata.

"This thing could've been longer." I remarked with a monotone voice as I examined it. Honestly, it looks more like an oversized scalpel than a glaive.

"Well, you snapped it in half, and this is the half we could salvage." Douglas shot back, still with a smile on his face.

"It looks like an oversized scalpel." I commented.

"D-Scalpel just sounds hilarious." Douglas said. "I'm still calling it the D-Glaive whether you like it or not."

"What's that short for, Douglas Glaive? Hahahah…" I joked.

"Ha ha ha, no. Don't go around calling it the Douglaive, or I'll shove a wrench up your ass." Douglas laughed. "It's short for Durga-Glaive."

"I see. Thanks, Doug. I'll be trying it out for a few hours." I thanked him, holding the D-Glaive in my hands.

"Alright, see you later! The Splash Laser is ready, so whenever you're done dividing the training dummies, you can take Axl in here. His name's Axl, right?" Douglas spoke to me with a smirk, waving.

"Yeah, you got it right." I assured him, smirking back in response to his little joke.

My internal clock showed the time—6:30 AM. I have 1 hour and 15 minutes to practice. I have to be good enough at this thing for the next fight. According to Axl in the last meeting, our next opponent, Flame Hyenard, is tough, to the point we can't approach him without his weakness, as much as we wanted to put him down immediately.

And I have to tote this thing around during the next mission. I remember last night—even though he was trying to either hide or deny it, I could hear it in his voice, as much as he tried to suppress it—Warfly meant something to him, even though both of us agree that he was a bastard. Crap, I never told him we're used to creating weapons out of dead enemies. Hopefully he won't be too disturbed by it when I take him to the R&D room…

It's a bit difficult with this weapon compared to my saber…in fact, this is the first time I'm using something other than the Z-Saber.

When chaos spread around the world after the Nightmare viruses wreaked havoc due to the destruction of Gate's laboratory, I was stuffed with the know-hows and muscle memory for other melee weapons just in case the Maverick Hunters got too understaffed and I had to compensate. Fortunately, it never came to that thanks to the government allowing Gate to live on the condition that he helped with the crisis, and he did.

But that also meant I have no actual experience using other weapons, even though I already have the resources. However, I have no time to lose confidence. I can't afford to. I have to be ready no matter what. Who the hell gives a rat's ass that I've never actually used something like this oversized scalpel? I'm Maverick Hunter Zero, bitch, and I'm going to kick your ass!

Summoning all my energy into one strong thrust, I destroyed the gigantic training dummy in one hit.

Alright, looks like I'm good enough with this weapon.

"Zero?"

X's voice made me turn my head towards his direction.

"Oh, hey, X." I greeted him with a smile. "How did you know I was here?"  
It's been a long time since I last saw his face. My internal clock told me it's 7:15…I guess I have time for a short conversation. It's been a long time since we even talked. I need the break.

"Well…I heard noises from the hallway. 'I'm Maverick Hunter Zero, bitch, and I'm going to kick your ass!'"

Did I say that out loud?  
That…that was embarrassing.

I looked away, and X started laughing.  
"Don't worry, Zero, there weren't anybody else around. You're the only one who gets up so early." X reassured me.

"Well, then, what about you?" I questioned.

"Oh, I…I couldn't sleep, that's all." he answered, the vivacious tone in his voice disappearing, his voice sounding weaker instead.

"Again?" I asked. Ever since his retirement and the rise of crime rate afterwards, I got so busy I could hardly see him. But every single time I see his face, he always looks like a frustrated mass of tumbleweed.

"You've been keeping track?" X responded in surprise, rubbing his eyes. Silly X. He still thinks I hate him?

"I'm not your mother, but I'm still your best friend." I answered.

"Thanks, Zero." X thanked me with a grin—I haven't seen that expression on his face in a while. "Hopefully you had a good rest last night."  
"Slept later than usual, but still satisfying. I talked to Axl." I responded.  
"I see…what did you talk about?" X asked, his eyes staring intently at me.

"Well…I don't know how to put it, but the whole thing feels nostalgic, for the first part. He has to kill his family, after all, and even though the last one we retired was a bastard to both of us, it was still hard for him." I huffed out. "I also learned a bunch of new things along the way. 'Smuch as I wanna tell you, X, I feel like I have to ask his permission first."  
"I still have a long way to go, huh…" X remarked.  
"What, you want to take him under your wing?" I asked him.  
"Of course I do! I may look like a big, disgusting bully in his eyes, but…he's still young. Well, okay, any reploid is younger than us, but still…I feel like I want to take care of him. He's a shooter like me, too, and when I see him, and what he's going through, I feel like I'm looking at a mini-me." X ranted. "I want to steer him to the right path."  
"And what is that right path, X?" I questioned him, biting my lip as I remembered my conversation with Axl last night.

"The one who doesn't understand is you. Fighting has always been my life. And anyone who enters my life better know and accept that if they want to stay; and they better be strong enough not to die." the echoing of his voice resounded in my head as I waited for X's response.

"I…" X stuttered. "I…Zero, I don't know anymore…I'm trying to set things right, but this happened. Maybe if I had stayed in the front lines, Axl wouldn't have lost his home and this whole disaster wouldn't have happened. But…but if I keep fighting and encourage other reploids to fight, I…"

I walked up to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. "X. It's alright. All of us are just trying to do our best. So are you." I tried to comfort him.

"I just don't want him to be stuck where I am now, Zero…" X confessed, gritting his teeth. "The other day, Alia said that I had become too important to leave. Given what had happened, I think she's right…Axl's important enough as he is already, and I don't want him to be too important to leave, like me.

I want him to experience life, Zero. I want him to live. Explore the world. Make friends. Live a normal life after all this. Live the life I can't have, live a peaceful life without ever worrying about having to risk life and limb fighting."

Shit, how do I explain this to Axl when the time comes? And how do I explain Axl's reasoning to X, too?

"Zero?" X called me, looking up. He must've felt my grip on his shoulder loosen when I tensed.

"I understand your feelings, X, but…I can't…" I stuttered. God dammit, how do I tell him that it might be hard for him to process the truth. But…I don't want to leave him hanging. Not when his psyche is fragile. He was relying on me to be the stone wall he can lean on, someone who would support him when anyone else wouldn't…but so was Axl.

And their viewpoints are totally different from each other. Maybe too different for the other to truly understand, but hopefully not…

"What's wrong, Zero?" X asked. "You look like you have…something big in your mind." Heh, perceptive as usual, eh, X? Then again, you're my best friend.

"It's fine. I won't prod. I trust you to tell me at the right time." he added with a smile.

Thank goodness. Dude's too kind for his own good sometimes. I sure hope I didn't drive him into a corner when…argh, what am I thinking? Oh, it's 7:45…

"Thanks, X. I gotta go now, though. Meeting Axl at 8 to take him to the R&D room." I ended the conversation.

"Have a nice day, Zero. Send my regards to Axl, will you?" he bade me farewell, waving.

"I won't forget."


	15. Chapter 10: MORNING

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED  
Chapter 10: Morning**

What the hell was with me last night? Telling Zero that I was the Shadow Murderer? Sure, it might've been impossible to arrest me now, given that they never had any evidence on the case to begin with, but that was stupid of me. And what was I expecting, for him to look at me with sympathetic eyes and say, "That must've been hard for you"?

I suppose I wasn't, but…honestly, I just wanted someone to do that. I just want someone who can forgive me. I just want someone to know the whole of me, good and bad, and accept me anyways. Red always told me that love is knowing everything about the person, good and bad, but you decide to stay with them anyways. I guess I just want someone to love me. Because I can't.

But the bigger question is, do I deserve it?  
I like to think I do, because I always followed Red's example. Whoever I decide to stand by, it's someone I'm confident I know almost everything about, and so I will stand by them even at their worst. I will, and I have, become the biggest sinner in the world for the people I love. I can, and I'm willing to give that much, so it's logical to expect someone who will one day extend the same favour to me.  
But at the same time, it feels stupid to have such an expectation, given who I am, and given what the world is. I'm more than just the Shadow Murderer. I've murdered many people whether they're innocent or not. The world hates people like that, for good reason. And as much as I want to deny it, the world loves to take, and not give. Most people will probably be unable to give as much as I can, and I might end up in a relationship where I'm giving way more than the other person, and I don't want that. I've ended up in such a relationship four times already, and all four of them ended in disaster.

Ugh, how did I end up simmering in so much hurt? I don't like this. I don't like this at all. My chest feels tight and my teeth are chattering. It makes me uncomfortable. I want this to stop. I can't fall asleep either—I couldn't fall asleep at all.

I think I'll just get up now. I'll make up for this by downing lots of E-tanks. Nothing more than that. I've messed up my sleep schedule numerous times when I was younger using caffeine-like chemicals, and I don't want to do it again.

I looked at my internal alarm—6 AM. I have 2 hours before Zero comes here. That sounds awfully long…but then again, time flies. I can't believe I spent more than 6 hours thinking negative thoughts all by myself, but it happened anyway. I slowly got off the bed, my head spinning as a result of my failed attempt to fall asleep. I squeezed my eyes shut for a second in reaction to the discomfort before walking to the showers.

Two nights ago, when I first got here, I was able to get some sleep. But last night, no. Not at all. Did Warfly's death affect me that much? Did it left me so vulnerable that I stupidly confessed one of my secrets to Zero, who only thinks of me as an acquaintance of sorts? But Warfly's an asshole. Even though he had his own reasons to be one, an asshole is still an asshole and I don't believe that his excuses justified his actions. Why am I caring about him this much anyway? Why do I always care so much? He's an asshole. Caring about him will only hurt me. He doesn't deserve a place in my mind.

Instead of Warfly, I should just focus on Hyenard. I can't mess up today. We're going to fight an unstable Hyenard. I took Warfly's DNA data, so my guns should be able to transform to use his Splash Laser. The Hunters offered to enhance the transformation and powers, so I gave them the guns. I'll be picking them up with Zero today.

Hyenard always said that he loves using his clones to confuse enemies and make them waste their ammo. The first time he told me, I pet his shoulder and said, "Good one". Even his strategy gained him approval from other Red Alert members, including the ones who had previously bullied him because of him trying to be like a ninja in spite of his big body build.

The last time I saw him, he was in lots of pain. The last thing I heard from him was a scream of pain before I darted away from his chamber to alert Anteator. I hope the Professor developed a cure already…I hope that, when we see him, he's not in pain anymore. When he's hurting like that, it hurts me too. I used to reassure him that he'll get a cure soon every time I visited him. It lightened him up every time.

"You know, Axl? I used to think you were a good-for-nothing kid. But as I got to know you better, it turns out you're a little ball of sunshine I can't do without."  
"No problem, Hyenard. I'll be here for you when you need me."  
"You're a good friend. When this is all over, let's watch ninja movies together again."  
"Of course. You've been locked up here alone for some time. Must be hell for you."  
"Hey, Axl…"  
"Yeah?"  
"If I can't make it…just remember that it's nice knowing you. I'm just glad I could help you recognize the value of your stealth-based fighting. You're always so nice to me, and I'm happy I could return the favour."  
"Wha—what the hell are you talking about?! Of course you're going to make it, don't be silly!"  
"I hope you're right—ugh!"  
"Oh no…Hyenard, just wait right here, I'll get Anteator!"  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH! IT HURTS…IT HURTS!"

Remembering our last conversation before he was too psychotic to recognize me, I couldn't stop my tears from flowing out. I couldn't protect him. Even with my copy ability, I can't just copy a medical bot and make the pain go away—I tried, and I failed. And now I have to kill him…

After the last of my tears fell, I turned off the water. That was a long enough shower. I have 30 minutes to dry up and put on my armour and a brave face. I can't break down in front of Zero, or anyone in the Hunters. I'm painted black as I am already. I don't want to be branded a kid who can't pull through.

I left the prison corridor after finishing my preparations to see Zero walking towards me. Guess both of us are in time.

"Hey, Axl." Zero greeted. "Good morning. Slept well?"  
"Morning, Zero." I greeted him back with a smile. "But no, not really. It's fine, though. I hope you don't mind if I get a few E-tanks first." I added, looking away in embarrassment. As much as I want to tough it out, I don't want to risk collapsing in the middle of the mission.  
"It's fine. We've all been there." Zero approved of my request.

I guess so…working in this place means that you'll have to sometimes retire ordinary reploids who's gone maverick, and it would probably involve one of your former comrades. I know I've retired Red Alert members who had gone maverick before, but those were rare occurrences—by the time I had to do that, I had learned not to get close to the weaker ones who are more likely to get infected. It never hurt this badly. But even then, the Maverick Hunters must go through this bullshit like it's nobody's business. Hah, what was I thinking? That my struggle is special? That my struggle is a one-of-a-kind tragedy? I was such a fool. Of course they're used to it. I'm just an inexperienced crybaby. This is just the beginning.

Suddenly it makes sense that they're treating me like a kid—I've been through absolutely nothing compared to them. But I'm worse than just a kid. I'm a child, and a killer. Even though I live an eventful life, I'm still nothing compared to X or Zero. I've just been alive for 10 years…

"Axl? What's wrong?" Zero's voice interrupted my thoughts. "You're spacing out."

Goddammit.

"I am? I must really need energy…I'm sorry, Zero." I apologized…more towards myself than Zero. I looked stupid. I hate it.

"Then let's hurry to the R&D room, then." Zero said. "I'll have to tell you, though, that…we're used to using parts of defeated reploids for weapons. So I'll be using this in battle…" he told me before revealing a blue-bladed short polearm. That's…

Zero blocked Warfly with his bare hands, quickly snatching his naginata and breaking it in half. "No. Never. Because I am not stupid, and because unlike you, I actually have a heart! Axl, now!"

The memory of that moment playing in my head, I blurted out. "Warfly's…"

"I'm sorry." Zero apologized.

"No, you don't need to. I'm used to it." I responded. "I use DNA data…I'm used to taking them off dead reploids."

"You're right…" Zero agreed. But the soft look on his eyes still told me that he's not really sure I'm fine. Zero, I'll be fine. I may not be fine now, but I will be. Because I have to.

"Come on, Axl. Let's go." Zero said as he walked away.

"Right."

After a short while, we arrived at the R&D room. The first thing I noticed was the mechanic in green holding both of my guns. "Hello, Axl! Nice to meet you." he greeted me, extending a hand for me to shake. "My name's Douglas. We finished enhancing your guns' transformations."

"Thanks, Douglas." I thanked him with a smile and shook his hand.

"Here you go. There's little that we need to do. We just had to install the power-up chips given by the former Red Alert members. For some reason these guns' technology is…like Zero's. Hard to understand, but works well enough regardless." Douglas explained to me before he handed the guns to me.

Wait, like Zero? These guns? I've had them with me since I woke up as an amnesiac. Red told me he found me with them, and I sync perfectly with them. Then does it mean that I'm, in a way, like Zero, too?

"I wonder what that means." I remarked at Douglas' explanation. "I've had these since Red found me."

"Maybe you're Zero's long lost brother?" Douglas joked, laughing at the end. "Either way, you should try it out now. You didn't get to show everyone how you use DNA data, right? I'd be real excited to be the first one to see it." he added with a big grin and bright eyes, his enthusiasm clearly showing on his face.

"Alright, but they don't transform all the time. Only when needed." I answered.  
"No worries. There's always next time. We have lots of reploid DNA stock, too." Douglas responded, still with a smile, while he set up the room to load a target for me to try Splash Laser on.

Smiling back at the first smile I saw for the day, I programmed my guns to load the Splash Laser instead of the Copy Shot, and fired. Out came the spurt of weaponized water that hit its target.

Wait...why is my chest feeling tight? Why did I feel the need to squeeze my eyes shut? My arm is shaking...and my sight is blurring. Why? Why am I feeling this much pain? I'm just trying out a new weapon. It doesn't matter that it happens to remind me of Warfly using it himself. It doesn't matter that it happens to remind me of yesterday's fight. Why does it matter so much? Why am I feeling pain over that asshole? Why does it have to hurt so much?

"Axl?" Douglas's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Are you okay?" he asked.

No…not again. I broke down again, didn't I? No, maybe not, maybe the lack of sleep really did affect me. I can't break down.

"A-ah. I guess it's because I didn't sleep well last night." I answered, trying to keep a straight face.

"That's not good…we'll get you some E-tanks for the mission. I'm sorry you had to go through this." Douglas responded, his sad tone a jarring contrast to his previously vivacious tone. "It's okay. I know it's hard on you."

No, Douglas. I'm just a crybaby and we know it. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm still inexperienced. I'm sorry I'm dragging you all down. But this won't last. I promise.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Did this chapter hurt you? Good, because it hurt me. Many times. UGH. I have two timelines. PMGR as it is exists in one of them. In this timeline, Axl is slowly broken until his breaking point (Post-X8)-he was first shown as an experienced badass veteran by normal standards (although unfortunately dwarfed by X and Zero), but slowly his insecurities and fears begin to show and he's put through more and more shit until he SNAPS. This chapter is cold hard evidence of that, and it hit me harder than I expected.  
_

 _This timeline is also the timeline where Axl is a reploid-ified, improved version of Dr. Wily's Copy Robot, created by Dr. Wily's descendant, Rosa Wily, and Dr. Light's descendant, White Light. I'm spoiling it to you because I don't think I'll write the story with the scene that reveals it._


	16. Chapter 11: MUSIC

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED  
Chapter 11: Music**

Zero and I arrived in front of the Lava Factory to see a few of the members of Hyenard's unit sitting in front of the gate with the factory's workers. The gate was…bound by huge chains and locks. Some other of Hyenard's unit members and the bigger factory workers were kicking the gate. The combination of the sounds of the metal gate being kicked by multiple reploids, the rattling of the chains and the sounds the locks made when they were knocked against the gate made a huge racket.

My ears…I can't take.  
I covered both of my earpieces with each hand, narrowing my eyes. I looked at Zero, and he was gritting his teeth and twitching his eye in frustration, muttering something under his breath. It's probably cursing.

What is the meaning of all this? At least I know that just like the rest of the now-former Red Alert members, Hyenard's guys are willing to help us put down Red Alert. But I don't know what they're doing. At least I can make some sense out of the circus set up by some of Warfly's unit members yesterday. But this? It's like they've gone mad.

"What the hell is going on here?" Zero remarked. "Are they trying to form an impromptu rock band?"  
"I…I have no idea either…" I commented. "Guys, what are you doing?"

"Oh! You're here!" one of the unit members glanced at me and greeted us. "Guys, the Maverick Hunters are here!" he then yelled at the other reploids. The reploids who were sitting got up, and the reploids who were kicking the gate walked towards the reploids who just got up.

"Can you help us break the door down?" one of the factory workers asked us.

"I don't understand…why are you doing this?" I asked them.

"The unit members inside will explain later. Right now, we need you guys to break the door down with us. We need to make some noise. Lots and lots of noise." the unit member who greeted said.  
The biggest reploids out of the factory workers and Hyenard's unit took down the chains and broke the locks. "Now, you just destroy the gate." he said again.

Zero's eye twitched once, and then he rolled his eyes. I glanced to the side to watch all the other reploids line up nicely. I wonder what they're doing? If they're intent on sitting back and watching us, why are they lining up so neatly? Oh well, we'll find out later, won't we?

I aimed both of my guns at the gate and squeezed the trigger. Zero took out his half-glaive, spun it, dashed forwards and thrust it at the gate multiple times.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"  
"AUUUUUGH!"  
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"  
"AIEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

One ear-piercing scream after another broke the brief silence, and I ended the conga line of screams with my own…what the hell was that about? Why? I caught my breath and felt my body shake. Zero looked back at us, his eyebrows raised.

"What?" he blurted out, confused…and maybe more than a little bit upset.

I gently inhaled and exhaled, and looked at my surroundings. My guns are on the ground. Oh, yeah. I heard the other guys scream, like a choir. It surprised me so much; I screamed with them and dropped my guns.

I slowly looked back at them.

"Why?" I questioned them, my eyebrows raised. Why, indeed. Why the screaming choir? Why the heart attack? Why this madness? Just…why?

"The ones inside will explain later!" the biggest member of Hyenard's unit sheepishly answered. "For now, just let us scream. You just continue destroying that gate."

I nodded slowly and bent down to pick up my guns. When they scream, I know it's coming. No surprises. Not anymore.

"Alright…" Zero said. "Go, Axl."

I did the same thing as before—aimed at the gate, squeezed the trigger. Zero slashed at the cracked parts of the gate with the glaive. We made short work out of the remains of the gate, with the screams of the lava factory workers and Hyenard's unit's members as a messed-up sort of background music.

They watched as the gate crumbled in front of us, high-fiving each other afterwards.

"Go inside, the others will tell you what's going on." the most elaborately-dressed factory worker—probably a supervisor—told us. "For now, don't worry about us. We trust them to keep us safe."

"Oh…okay, then." Zero responded, with a slightly blank confused look. "Let's go, Axl. I can't wait to find out…" he sighed before dashing ahead.

"You and me both…" I remarked, and dashed after him.

A few dashes afterwards, we found absolutely nobody inside the silent first parts of the factory.  
"Is this a trap?" Zero questioned, the expression of his face calmer after the impromptu rock band disbanded, but his eyes sharp because of the suspicion.  
"Shouldn't be…" I answered. This can't be a trap. I don't want to believe it is. Hell, half of Hyenard's unit was with all the factory workers. "Why would you think that? Can't you see that Hyenard's guys weren't acting like mavericks?" I questioned him back, my eyes narrowed.  
"Sorry, Axl." Zero apologized, before explaining himself. "It's just weird to be in a peacefully silent environment after that messed-up rock concert."  
"I don't blame you for feeling weird. But either way, I think it's only quiet because, you know, all the factory workers are over there." I responded, pointing behind me with my thumb. "Let's go in a little more."

A few dashes later, we started hearing…weird sounds from the distance. And screaming. Lots and lots of screaming.  
"What the hell is this?" Zero raised his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes, as if contemplating whether it's another ruckus like before. Well, maybe it's not "as if". I think he is. Just like me.  
The echoes of the screaming choir from the front gate is terrorizing my ears and brain right now…go away, blasted auditory hallucination! It must've been invoked by the distant screaming we just heard.  
"I don't know, Zero. All I can make out is screaming. On a scale of one to ten, how much are you expecting an encore?" I asked.  
"Ten hundred thousand billion trillion, blargh. Does that even make sense? I don't know. I don't care. Nothing makes sense right now. Let's just go, Axl." he responded before dashing ahead.

I think Zero just lost his soul right then and there.

A few dashes later…the truth was out. We saw a lot more of Hyenard's guys, sitting around in the still-intact factory with microphones and loudspeakers. Some of them were screaming into their microphones like heavy metal singers, others using them to increase the volume of the sounds of shooting, slashing and explosions that was being played in the loudspeakers.

"WHAT THE…?" Zero blurted out loudly at the sight…for two people, I suppose. After the struggle with remnants of Warfly's unit, we were expecting another. Not this. Not that choir either, or this teenage-humans-party-like scene…that suddenly turned into a crashed-by-the-police-party scene when all the present unit members went silent in unison, except for one guy who was still screaming into the mic with all his heart, until he was stopped by a smack in the face from the one beside him.

I wasn't expecting Zero to react like this, though. Hell, I didn't expect him to react at all after he lost his soul just a few minutes ago. I can't even...

I started laughing, but I stopped when I saw some of Hyenard's guys making a motion for me to keep my voice down, even though they're holding in their own laughter. And then I joined the club…by covering my mouth with my hand. I glanced at Zero. He started frowning after he turned as red as his armour. And then, he cleared his throat.

"Will someone please explain to us what's going on?" Zero asked gently like a hotel receptionist, even though his face still looks like he bit a fresh lemon, hard. "Your fellow unit members told us that the unit members inside will explain it to us." he continued.

Looks like he got his soul back.

One of the unit members took an E-tank that was sitting beside her. She chugged it before she cleared her throat. Afterwards, she inhaled slowly, and she followed it with a speech.

"Alright, so last time you Maverick Hunters received a report that Hyenard's installing bombs all over the factory, right? Right now he's inside the core of the factory. We cooped him in there because of his condition. He wanted to blow himself up and take the factory down with him to make sure he dies.

But of course, we can't let that happen. So as soon as he's cooped up alone in there, we dismantled the bombs and created all sorts of effects to make him believe that we're fighting against you, so that he'll at least stay there until you actually get there."

"So that's why you were causing such a ruckus outside, and here? What about the deal with the workers?" I asked.

"Correct, Captain Axl." the unit member confirmed. Still calling me Captain, huh? "And as for the workers, some of us came here first so that we could evacuate them. We also had to make ourselves familiar with the area before the other half of the unit finished escorting Hyenard, so that when he installed the bombs, we could easily find them and dismantle them.

We told the workers we're helping the Maverick Hunters contain a crazy maverick and we had no other choice. That's it. We couldn't, and still can't, say anything at all about you or Red Alert in front of the workers, that's why the guys outside can't acknowledge you."

Zero's eyes widened slowly and he nodded in acknowledgement. "Impressive. I'll make sure to report this to Commander Signas." he remarked.  
"Well, it's good that you let them know, Zero." Zero and I heard Alia's voice through the comm. "The Commander's watching right now, and he's just as impressed right now." she continued. In reaction, I smirked. We're more than just an illegal bunch of bounty hunters, you see?

Wait.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait up." I said. "You were saying Hyenard was crazy. You mean he's STILL crazy? What did I miss? Didn't he get fixed up?" I questioned the spokeswoman from Hyenard's unit. I remember the last time I saw Hyenard, two or three weeks before I left Red Alert. He was writhing in pain in the middle of our conversation, and I stormed out of the room to get Anteator.

I never heard anything about Hyenard from Anteator or the Professor afterwards, but…last time, when the other generals were hurt from the side-effects of the Professor's upgrades, the Professor managed to fix them up. So Hyenard…did the Professor fail? No, right? He couldn't have failed, he succeeded with the others! Yet…yet…

I bit my lip to prevent them from trembling in front of Hyenard's unit members, who, right now, are putting their faith in me and Zero. They're still calling me Captain, for crying out loud!

"The Professor…that big bastard. True, he did manage to erase the side-effects of his so-called 'upgrades' on the generals. Afterwards, he promised us that there would be no more problems at all. But then suddenly, when you left, the side-effects returned again! And then he threatened us to bring you back, or else they'll stay like this." the spokeswoman answered, gritting her teeth. "That's a bunch of bullshit. Now we understand why you escaped. That Professor was playing Red Alert like a fiddle!"

I gritted my teeth. How dare he? Does he not have a shred of compassion in his heart for someone else other than himself? Hyenard was in constant pain and agony, and he returned him to that state. And it's not only Hyenard—he did this to the others as well. This is unacceptable, and I swear I will kill him.

"I have no idea why Red let the Professor in and let the bastard boss him around in the first place, and I sure as hell want to beat the damn truth out of him. But it's not my place, Captain Axl, but yours. For now, we know that we have to help you get there." the spokeswoman finished, her voice low, almost growling.

"I promise I won't let you down. I'll put down Hyenard as painlessly as possible, and get to the bottom of this." I promised, saluting at her and the rest of the unit members, and they saluted back.

"Alright, thanks for the information...but out of curiosity, where are your weapons? The last general had weapons and resources assigned to him and his unit." Zero asked.

"We didn't take any of the weapons assigned to us and um, we sneaked away some cash instead for the special effects." the spokeswoman answered before taking another E-tank and chugging it. "But we blew them up so that the Professor can't use them." she continued, smirking.

"Good job." I complimented the unit with a grin and a thumbs-up. "Real good job."

"Well, what are you waiting for, then? Use that teleporter to get to Hyenard. We rigged it so that it leads right to the factory's core. We'll do the rest." the spokeswoman said and pointed at the teleporter on the corner before chugging her third and last E-tank. The other unit members followed suit as we ran towards the teleporter. And then, I heard all of them scream their loudest at once as I teleported away to the factory core, where Hyenard is.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** First of all, sorry for the (relatively?) long absence. School started like, two weeks ago and now I have to divide my time between school, drawing, daily life stuff, and writing. This idea of Hyenard's unit doing...all this to keep Hyenard contained came to me when I was in the subway. This chapter was harder to write than usual, probably because it's been a long time since I last write PMGR, I suppose. Just needed to flex my muscles first. I also didn't expect to have to divide the Lava Factory mission into two parts. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter._


	17. Chapter 12: MADNESS

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 12: Madness**

Goddammit, Hyenard. I know I'm going to see shit I don't want to see when I get to you. But I never expected this, of all things. You were so elated when Anteator gave you that gazelle mechaniloid for your birthday. But now…

"What…is…this?" Zero stammered out, staring at the scene—Hyenard alone in the core of the factory with a lot of dents and scars, his gazelle mechaniloid in pieces, half-afloat inside the lava surrounding the floor we're standing on.

"Axl. Is that…erm. Was that the mechaniloid assigned for him?" Zero turned to me and asked, his eyes still wide.

"Should be." I responded, my voice weak from the realization that Hyenard had destroyed it. "It's one of his favourite things."

Hyenard turned his head after I spoke. Is he…does he still remember my voice, even in his madness?

"Hyenard?" I called out to him. "It's me, Axl…" I hope he can still recognize me…maybe if he does, we can still save him. Maybe he can still live.

Hyenard's reaction was a growl…  
"S-s-so you Ma-Maverick Huntersss…finally uh-arrived…" Hyenard was clearly struggling to speak, his voice breathy and his speech full of stutters. "I d-don't know what you're babbling 'bout…but when I k-kill you, the Prof…will use your parts to s-stop my pain…!"

No, no, no, no. Please tell me this is a lie. Hyenard…can't even recognize my voice anymore. He can't even understand what people are saying to him anymore. I don't know what kind of hell that son-of-a-bitch Professor put him through, but I don't want to believe that this is true. And yet, given who we're dealing with, it's perfectly believable.

I bit my lip before speaking to Hyenard again. "Hyenard, I don't know if you can still recognize me deep inside your heart, but…" I paused for a while to load my guns to load the Splash Laser instead of the Copy Shot. "I'm sorry I gave you false hope." I continued, before pointing both my guns at him.

"STOP THAT NOOOOOOOOOOISE!" Hyenard roared as he charged at me. I tried as hard as I could to look him in the eye, and squeezed both triggers. The Splash Laser came out of the barrels, hitting both of his shoulders. Hyenard screamed in pain at the top of his lungs and fell on the ground, on his back. I felt my chest tightening.

"If I can't make it….. Just remember that it's nice knowing you. I'm just glad I could help you recognize the value of your stealth-based fighting…. You're always so nice to me, and I'm happy I could return the favour…."  
"Wha—what the hell are you talking about?! Of course you're going to make it, don't be silly!"  
"I hope you're right—ugh!"  
"Oh no….. Hyenard, just wait right here, I'll get Anteator!"  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH! IT HURTS…. IT HURTS!"

The memories of our last conversation returned to echo in my ears. My voice now is nothing but noise that aggravates him every time I speak. We can't even talk normally. I can't talk him into calming down so he can be examined by the Hunters. I can't even assure him that I'll retire him quickly to spare him the pain. And we can't even say goodbye to each other…

It's all because of that Professor, isn't it? That stinking piece of shit…I hate him. I hate him with all my being. I hate him for what he's done to Red Alert. I hate him for the pain he caused Hyenard. I hate him for reducing Hyenard into a rabid dog. I don't like what he's done. He's unforgiveable…!

Screaming at the top of my lungs, I squeezed both of my triggers again as I aimed at Hyenard, who got up to charge at me again. He didn't use his clones. Hyenard was so proud of it, he was so happy when he found a cloning mod compatible with his systems. The Professor robbed him of that joy.

This time, when my Splash Laser hit him, Hyenard kept on charging in spite of the pain. I dashed backwards just in time—one second later and I would've been pummelled…by one of my own best friends.

If we're going to retire him quickly, then we can't have him attacking. We can't have him moving at all…  
I aimed for his knees, still squeezing my trigger.  
…wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait! No! This isn't supposed to happen! Argh…I was so stupid…I used up my weapon energy for the first blows!

Hyenard roared again, and I looked up to see his face right in front of me. I reflexively slapped it away…  
Wait, a thud?  
I backed away and saw Hyenard tumble down. Zero had pinned the back of his knee using his glaive.

"Axl…I know you want to put him out of his misery." he spoke to me. "But you're not alone, you know. This may be your battle, but this is our war, and our mission." Zero continued, his eyes looking at me sternly.

"I can't forgive the Professor, Zero…" I tried to explain myself, but my voice was weak and raspy from screaming earlier. Damn it…I feel so stupid for losing control of my own emotions to the point I look stupid. I've made such a bad impression. This is just once in a blue moon; I always keep myself calm and composed no matter what. It's part of the life of a gunner. Will I ever live this down?

"I know how you feel all too well." Zero replied, his stern gaze softening. "But you're out of weapon energy. Leave this to me."

Zero pulled off his glaive, and Hyenard screamed in pain in reaction. He tried to struggle to get up, but Zero stepped on his back and pointed the blade of his glaive at the back of Hyenard's neck.

"You can close your eyes if you want to, Axl." Zero spoke to me gently.  
"Thanks, Zero, but I'll pass." I answered with a smile, my tears flowing even though I tried to hold them back. I squatted to look at Hyenard's face, and I smiled sadly at his delirious, unfocused gaze. "Goodbye, Hyenard. It was nice knowing you, too." I gently spoke to him, for the last time.

Zero inhaled and lifted his arms up before thrusting the blade downwards with all his might. Watery energy gathered around the tip of the glaive's blade before the blade hit Hyenard's neck.

I laughed as I watched Hyenard's head roll away from his body. He's not in pain anymore. He's dead. But at least he's not hurting anymore. He's not hurting anymore…it's okay now, Hyenard. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I gave you so much false hope. I'm sorry I gave myself so much false hope. I'm sorry I was too reckless…I couldn't retire you myself.

"Axl! Axl!" I could slightly hear Zero calling out to me, even in the midst of my own laughter.  
"Ahahaha…Zero…don't you understand? He…Hyenard…Hyenard's not in pain anymore, Zero…we did it…we did it!" I slowly stopped laughing and answered him. "At least let me have this moment of joy, alright? Ahaha…ahahahaha…" I continued my speech, before continuing my laughter.

"AXL!" Alia screamed at me through the comm. "Axl! Snap out of it! AXL!"

"It's okay, Alia…" I responded. "The mission's complete, isn't it? It's okay now…at least let me celebrate that one thing that is okay…"

"No, Axl, you're not okay." Alia spoke to me, as if urging me to stop.

No, Alia. Of course I'm not okay. I just watched one of my best friends die by the hands of someone other than me. Who the fuck can be okay after that? And after I told him that he was silly for thinking he couldn't survive? I'm thankfully unscathed…physically. But I feel like I'm being torn apart from the inside, eaten away by a thousand maggots.

Hyenard…you're not hurting anymore. It's okay now. You're in a better place now. Give my brothers my regards, alright?

"It hurts…"

Ah, it's my turn, isn't it?

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Wasn't expecting this anticlimax? I wasn't, either. But it was the only thing that came out. This was how the scene turned out to be. But it kind of makes sense considering how crazed he is. I've been through excruciating pain before (See: The Author's Notes in PMGR's Bonus Chapter 3) and holy crap, it made it hard for me to do anything at all.  
Hyenard obviously went through worse pain to the point his senses were warped by it, and being told that killing the Hunters would make the Prof fix him up wouldn't help either. He'd crush everything in his path after believing them to be the Hunters, starting from his own mechaniloid. Being a crazed berserker would make him an easy target for two people. One of them as bait, the other as the one dealing the killing blow, because his movements were so predictable.  
And oh, I wasn't expecting that end, either. It stung me the worst. Guys, remember that there are people who love and care about you, wherever you are. It's nice to be able to take care of them and make them happy, but you have to take care of yourself, too. Just like how you'll be hurt when they get hurt, they'll get hurt when you're in pain, too._


	18. Chapter 13: MOURNING

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 13: Mourning**

Alia teleported us back to base. I was still laughing, staring at Hyenard's body, when I disappeared from the factory's core. I am no longer laughing; my laughter was replaced by soft sobbing. Strangely, I was still smiling wide. That smile wasn't forced, however. Hyenard's finally free from his hell, after so long. I'm sorry, Hyenard. I wanted to retire you first. We all did. But it doesn't matter anyway. You're free now.

"Axl…it's over now, it's okay…" X gently spoke to me as he walked towards me, his eyes sadly looking at me.

No, X, it's fine. You don't have to pity me. It's…natural, right? I'm…if I'm going to become a maverick hunter, I have to get used to this kind of pain. It's always easier to laugh it off like this…

I laughed, wiping my tears, which hadn't stopped dripping. I squeezed my hurting eyes and rubbed them.  
"Yeah. It's okay now." I responded, still with the same wide smile.  
"If you need someone to talk to, I'm here. Zero's here." X spoke to me again, still with the same gentle voice. I shuddered and bit my lip. Even now, I still find the contrast between his voice now and his voice when I first got here extremely jarring.

"I think he needs to be left alone." Zero commented, looking at me.  
"Zee, I can't. I can't do it. Unless he wants me to." X replied. "Axl, do you…need some alone time?" X turned to me and asked.

"I…" I stuttered, before breaking out into a small laugh. "I don't know. I have no idea. It's stupid, isn't it? I don't even know what I want right now. Everything inside just hurts. Maybe this is how Hyenard felt?" I ranted, my tears flowing out again. I bit my lip at the end of it. I don't want to turn into a raving lunatic…like what Hyenard became after the Professor fucked him up.

"It's okay, Axl." X tried to reassure me. "It's okay to feel. It's okay to accept your feelings."  
"No, X, I look totally stupid. I should've cried alone." I replied. Because it's true, isn't it? In all your eyes, I'm a kid. I'm a kid who WILL have trouble going through all this. I shouldn't have let you see it. I'm an idiot…I'm a sentimental idiot…  
"Who cares about all that?" X responded, looking me in the eye. "It's not wrong to feel. It's not a crime to have emotions. You can't always keep a straight face, especially when you're going through this kind of thing…and I understand how it feels." he continued, and through my blurred sight, I could see tears forming in his eyes.

Why, X? Why are you crying? It's not your best friend who died. You don't have to do that kind of shit anymore. You're not fighting anymore. Why are you crying? For me? For Hyenard? But why? Why are you shouldering pain that has nothing to do with you at all? I don't understand, X. I don't.

Stop it, X. Please. Even if seeing your face makes me feel uncomfortable, I still don't want to see you cry.

"X…stop…" I stammered out, my voice choked. "You…you don't need to be sad, too…"  
"I don't care, Axl." X replied, his tears flowing down his cheeks. "Being in pain all alone is just…horrible. I don't want anyone to go through that."  
"Don't…don't butt your nose in where it doesn't belong!" I yelled at him and instantly hung my head low afterwards. "It's not your problem! Why are you getting yourself hurt for me?" I questioned, still yelling. My chest feels even tighter now…I shouldn't have done that. Yet, I couldn't keep it in…

"Because I've been there, Axl. And even now, I'm still there…" X replied, pulling me into a hug. "If there's something that years of maverick hunting has taught me, it's that every reploid, maverick or no…is precious, even if I can't personally understand their value." he continued, his voice choked by sobbing.  
"That's bullshit." I replied with a low voice, clenching both of my fists. If you are really telling the truth, then why did you point your buster at me that time? You were perfectly ready to kill me, if it could end the fight.

At that moment, I learned that the moment a reploid becomes a maverick, or anything close to it, not even the most compassionate person can see anything worth loving in them. That was what you had taught and shown me. That was what you had done.

"I understand if you can't forgive me." X responded, still hugging me. "Even if you don't, I won't blame you or hate you. I was a fool…I let my anger take control of me. I shouldn't have done that, and I've always wanted to tell you…that I'm sorry."

His apology stung my ears, and more tears pushed themselves out of my aching eye sockets. It hurts…just hearing his voice hurts my ears. I don't like this. Hyenard, is this how you felt when you heard my voice?

I screamed.  
It hurts, X. Everything hurts. I feel so stupid for asking you this. I'm not Zero. I'm just an acquaintance. But at least, please know that at the moment, I don't want to be alone. I'm sorry my chest feels unbearably tight. I'm sorry my arms feel so limp, I can't even return the hug.

My throat can't handle another scream. It hurts now. I feel so stupid for hurting myself like this for the umpteenth time. I coughed in reaction, and devolved into a sobbing heap in X's arms.

"Hyenard's gone, X…" I whispered. "It hurts so much…everything hurts so much now. He's not in pain anymore…but he's gone now. We couldn't even properly bid each other farewell…"

"You said goodbye, Axl. It's good enough." X comforted me, his voice choked by sobbing, but for some reason, it's still composed. "He's in a better place now…you did a good job. I'm proud of you."

My sobbing softened. The tightness in my chest subsided slightly. Hyenard's in a better place…he's not in pain anymore…I should be happy for him. But…I didn't…I didn't want this.

"I wanted him to survive, X…" I confessed. "I told him he would…but I just…all I did was give him false hope…"

X said nothing, and hugged me tighter.

"Don't be sad, Axl. You were…just being a good friend." he reassured me. "You did your best. Sometimes life gets the better of us, even after we tried so hard."  
"I-it's going to get h-harder from this point…on, won't it?" I questioned, my voice shaky.

Everything hurts so much right now. It's unbearable. I feel like dying would relieve me of this pain. But I can't die. I mustn't. I still need to help the Hunters put down Red Alert. And, after that, I need to make up for all the time I spent being a murderous bastard in order to support Red Alert…

"It'll always be hard…having to retire the people you love." X responded. "But just remember, if you need a shoulder to cry on, if you need someone to cry with, I'm here."

No, X. Please don't say that. I don't want to depend on you. I don't want to have expectations for you. Not anymore. It hurt me badly, when you let me down that time. I'm feeling enough pain as I am now. I don't want any more.  
I'm sorry, X. I'm sorry I troubled you. I'm sorry I can't forgive you yet. I'm sorry I made myself look like a fool. But even if it gets harder, I'll pull through. I promise.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Double update because I feel like it. The scene played so perfectly, I couldn't waste it. Also, I took up an internship. So in addition to drawing, writing, school and daily life, the internship gets added to the "time divider" club. Anyways, I finally managed to rewrite all the chapters! Big shout out to Big Sis for opening my eyes into rewriting the whole of PMGR. But I don't intend to stop here. I started this fic, and I intend to finish it. _

_For some reason being busy makes me write more. But then again, making art helps me forget about my stress. Making art helps me forget about the problems I have no control over. It feels good to lose myself and make something beautiful in the process._

 _As an aside, have you noticed that the last 4 chapter titles start with an "M"? Morning, Music, Madness, Mourning. I realized it when I came up with the titles after Chapter 11, and it was pretty funny, so I kept it. But the "M" conga line stops now, though._


	19. Chapter 14: REBIRTH

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 14: Rebirth**

It's morning already? I don't want to get up…lying on the bed half-asleep like this makes like, half the pain go away. I had no dreams, apparently. Which is…fortunate enough for me. Shame I didn't get to see Hyenard in robot heaven with my brothers, but at least I didn't have a flashback-nightmare of yesterday.

Speaking of yesterday…after I stopped sobbing in X's arms, I pulled away to find that Zero had disappeared. X told me he left to give us time alone and to report to Signas. I never saw him afterwards—I just went to my room after X told me I didn't have to do anything else. I removed my armour, showered, and just plopped on the bed.

I still had my internal alarm set at 7:30 AM. Now it's…7:40. I have spent 10 minutes lying down here not doing anything. I can't stay this way. I have to meet Zero at 8 AM every day, including today. But…I want to just stay here and lie down. My chest still feels tight and my eyes feel heavy. I have to get up; I have a mission to complete. But…I don't want to. But I have to.

I have to. That's what matters more.  
I wanted to die when the pain was at its worst, just like Hyenard. But I know I can't die. There are things I have to do. The things I have to do…are what I have to do, because I decided that I have to do them, no matter what.  
The one I have to fight next is Boarski. I remember his guys saying that the Professor's dirty hands fucked him up to the point his short temper turned unbearable and beastly.  
I can't go around wasting time. I need to put Red Alert out of its misery.

Gritting my teeth as more of the pain returned to me, I forced myself to get up. The tightness in my chest returned. My head spun slightly. My eyes felt heavier. I don't like this. This isn't going to help me with the next fight with Boarski. Maybe a nice morning shower can help with this pain…right now, I don't like heat. I want the cold.

I forced myself to walk towards the showers faster than usual because I've wasted 10 minutes, so now I have less time to shower. I turned the water on and slowly breathed in and out…the feeling of cold water is nice today. My eyes feel lighter now. I don't exactly feel completely fresh, but definitely way better than I was before. I smiled…even though it's not long since I last smiled, or laughed, I feel like it's the first time I smiled in a while. It feels good.

Giggling, I kept the smile on my face. I don't know why. My life just got worse starting from yesterday, but for some reason a little thing like the feeling of cold water splashing my skin after leaving the Lava Factory in tears makes me smile. It's confusing and intriguing, yet, right now, I don't want to think about it. Right now, I just want to enjoy how good it feels to be able to smile again; even if it's just because of feeling the cold water.

When my internal clock reached 7:50, I left the showers and dried myself before putting on my armour. That took me 8 minutes. It took me less than a minute to leave the jail corridor. 7:59 AM…Zero should be here soon.

…

I'm still not feeling good…the cold shower refreshed me a bit, but some of the feeling disappeared when it was over. If someone talks to me, maybe I can get a distraction.

…

Zero, what are you doing? I don't like this. It feels awkward leaning against a wall in this place, alone. I don't like being looked at by passers-by either. One particular passer-by, a reploid with black hair and heavy black armour, actually stopped walking to stare at me for a solid 10 seconds with a bewildered expression…until I stared back at him—or her, with my eyes narrowed.

Zero, please come quick. I feel even worse.

…

Now Zero walked in here. At 8:15. While he was far, I made a small frown at him…just enough of a frown for the sake of catharsis, but not big enough for him to see at that distance. I hurried all the way to turn up in time. Have you any idea how much I sacrificed just so I could wait for you for 15 minutes, Zero? While being stared at by other people? You better have a damn good explanation for this.

"Hey, Axl." Zero greeted me. "Sorry I'm late. I…I forgot to tell you a few things yesterday. I just remembered when X brought up that you would probably be waiting for me right now."

"Right..." I responded, trying—but failing, slightly, I suppose—to suppress the annoyance in my voice. "So, what happened while I was out?"

"We're not fighting Boarski today." Zero answered.

What?

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped.  
"Zero. What is the meaning of this?" I blurted out.

"Two perfectly good reasons. One: X is going to analyse what the Professor had done to Hyenard, using his head, which we had salvaged. You can't talk to him, though—he's in the R&D room alone because of how high the risk is, so he's got his work cut out for him, for the rest of today.  
Maybe if he figures something out, we can use it to cure the Red Alert members…" Zero explained, and stopped to smile when he saw my eyes widening with hope.

"Really, Zero?" I responded, smiling.

"Well…both of us want to be able to get a cure. But…don't get your hopes up yet, Axl. It's a 'maybe'. Not a 'definitely'." Zero said, his smile disappearing, his usual poker face returning.

"It's fine, Zero. It's enough to make me feel good for today." I replied, my smile shrinking, but still there. "At least I can take comfort that what X said was true."

"Told you he's the kindest person I've ever known." Zero remarked, smiling again. "I know it's hard to believe for you, but he is."

"You said there were two good reasons on why we're not fighting Boarski today, right? What's the second one?" I asked.

"Mmmm…well…we decided that you need the mental rest." Zero answered, stopping for a while to lightly chew his lips. "You were in bad shape yesterday." he continued.

I sighed. As much as I don't want them to treat me like a cripple, I think I'm just being oversensitive. They just want to make sure that I'm in top condition for every mission. Oh, well…

"Maybe some conversation might help." Zero spoke again. "If we're going to recruit you, it would help for us to know more about you."

I smirked and chuckled. "Don't you know more than enough already?"

Zero smirked back, sensing that I was teasing him. "Heh, that was a good one." he complimented. "Well, if you don't wanna talk, you can always use the training room under my name as long as you let me tag along. But I figured that talking to me more about Red Alert might help." Zero continued. "We all know they're more than just mercenaries."

Wait…that last sentence? I mean…I know they are. But the Maverick Hunters had been clashing with them for the past 3 months. And even now, they're helping me put them down. My ear ached a bit and my chest tightened for a minute when I heard the name "Red Alert", but…

"Z-Zero?" I blurted out.

"You heard me, Axl." Zero responded. "Those former unit members have shown us that Red Alert may be an illegal bounty hunting group, but they're composed of people. Of course, we know that every reploid, maverick or no, are people. But they are one of those people who actually made us feel it."

"Go on…" I urged Zero. It feels good to hear that. My heart feels warm and fuzzy. It feels good. Please continue.

Zero smiled before continuing.  
"Looking at how, at the core, they're just a bunch of mercenaries for hire who truly don't want to harm innocents, we feel their pain too. We're not the only one suffering. They are, too. We only clashed with Red Alert because mercenaries are illegal, and they've stopped being so covert since X's retirement.  
It's like, because of the Professor you keep talking about, we're comrades in the same suffering. Even if we'd clash in normal circumstances, I feel like that, right now, we're allies." he explained.

Heh…if there's something good that came out of the Professor's cursed meddling, I guess it's that the Hunters, or Zero at least, finally saw Red Alert as people. I get to fight with the Maverick Hunters and understand X a little more…even though I still don't want to be near him.  
Which reminds me, being indebted to him makes me uncomfortable, given that I don't want to be near him or talk to him right now.

"Alright, Zero. I'll take you up on your offer." I said to him, smiling wide. It feels good.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Triple update, I suppose...I count it as one considering how fast this chapter came out after the previous one. Anyways, a nice break from the tears, right? Plus, I want to (have Axl) babble more about Red Alert (the way I interpret them)._

 _Also, to answer aylengm in his/her last review: Thank you for the concern and the intent to contribute, but sorry, I have to refuse. The reason is that I have already set Axl's strengths and weaknesses at a given point in time.  
What you are suggesting is permanent integration of external DNA. The copy chip can never do that, even if he's upgraded to, say, Lumine's level. The copy chip's utilization of DNA data, no matter how advanced, depends on the reploid's DNA library. It can be formatted by the owner, or anyone else with the expertise and/or authority.  
Why the ability to manipulate the library? Because in the earlier chapters, Axl formatted his own DNA library for his own personal reasons. Clearly, it's possible for someone to want to delete some data off their own library, even though DNA data (in my headcanon, that is) do NOT come with viruses. So permanent integration of other reploids' DNA is outright impossible, the same way you wouldn't want to have a computer that won't let you delete anything in it._

 _Also, Moonchan/ Hannaji, you'll recognize that cameo. _


	20. Chapter 15: AUTUMN

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 15: Autumn**

Zero and I settled in a private room in one of the Hunter lounges to talk. We tried settling in the common area, but the hunters kept looking at us funny or shooting dirty looks at me. Eventually, we had to get our own room.

"I'm sorry, Axl." Zero apologized with a sad frown, even though it's not his fault.  
"No, it's fine, Zero." I replied. "It's not your fault the other hunters are unforgiving haters." I sighed.  
He heaved a sigh as well before remarking. "It's always easier to hate than to love. It always feels good to hold yourselves above other people, whether you deserve it or not." Zero's frown disappeared, and his usual poker face returned. "Anyways, let's start the chat. Can you tell me more about Red Alert?"

I tensed. Just what do I say that wouldn't sound offensive to the guy who's been the unofficial backbone of the Maverick Hunters after X's retirement? Hell, almost everything except the intra-member bonds can be considered offensive. We're an illegal mercenary group who will murder anyone as long as we're paid good for it and our terms and conditions are read and accepted. I don't even like that description, and I described Red Alert as cleanly and as truthfully as possible.

Zero chuckled, having seen me tense for several seconds. I softly snorted before looking away in embarrassment. Thanks for reading me, Zero. I have no idea how to explain my thoughts to you without embarrassing myself…

"It's fine, Axl. I know the basics already. I don't mind you describing the bad with the good, and vice versa." Zero assured me.

"Thanks, Zero, I needed to hear that." I responded with a smile, before I inhaled and exhaled as I feel my insides glow with confidence once more.

"Alright…so we both know that Red Alert is…or was, a big, thriving illegal mercenary group. They're my friends and family, and I spent almost all of my life there." I started, my smile growing wider as flashes of good memories returned to me, making me feel warm and fuzzy.  
"You already know our most important code of honour—never kill an innocent, unless they're witnesses. We don't leave any witnesses. That's how we stayed so covert, and that's why we were a popular option for people with bucks and a frothing desire to see someone else mysteriously dead." I continued, my smile growing more crooked and possibly funny-looking as I explained.  
I chuckled at the end of it as I remembered business executives paying both me and Red with briefcases of cash, and remembering reading their annual reports just for fun, only to see how much they boast about CSR—Corporate Social Responsibility, whatever the hell it is—and how much they want to contribute to society. I always find their hypocrisy bitterly amusing.

"Out of curiosity, who are your most frequent clients?" Zero asked, a naughty, shit-eating smirk on his face.

I laughed briefly at his face before answering. "Mostly rich people in need of anger management courses. They tend to ask me to kill cheating spouses, business rivals, people they owe money to, and in worst cases…their own parents." my smile disappeared at the end of the speech. I bit my lip hard as my head spun.  
Killing their own parents? If their parents are abusive, or dangerous or something, I can understand. But I've come across people wanting to kill their parents to get inheritance, or some twisted rich people family drama like that. It's too complicated for me to understand, but my heart always aches whenever I get a request from someone who want their parents dead.

"I'm sorry, Axl." Zero said, gazing sympathetically at me. At least both of us know I didn't like doing that. "Job's just as hard as ours, eh?" he remarked.  
"At least you're actually contributing to society." I replied. "We're a bunch of hired guns. We kill everybody we're told to, no matter who. You guys kill people who will endanger society if let live. I can understand your reasoning."  
"Still doesn't change that both Red Alert and the Maverick Hunters kill people, and not everyone likes the job they're given." Zero countered calmly.  
I chuckled. "You're right. I guess we have that in common. You told me you'll tell me your side of the story. Is it time now?" I asked, a small smile on my face.  
"Nope. This chat is about you. Not me." Zero responded.  
"Alright…so what else do you wanna know?" I asked.

"If it makes you feel better…" Zero answered, pausing for a while before continuing. "Can you tell me more about Warfly and…Hyenard?" when he stopped talking, his eyes got slightly wider as he looked at me intently.  
I felt like shuddering as I feel my shoulders tense. I had to control my breathing and stop myself from hyperventilating as flashes of the previous battles blocked my vision. I can, however, make out the sight of Zero staring worriedly at me, his eyes widening even more, making him look like a deer in headlights.

Wait.

Zero. Looking like a deer in headlights.

The toughest, manliest heartthrob Maverick Hunter who remains masculine and tough-looking in spite of his boob-lights and Rapunzel-like hair. Looking like a deer in headlights.

Oh, god. I never thought I get to witness such a glorious sight. Glorious enough to snap me out of my trauma.

I keeled over laughing, clutching my stomach. My eyes squeezed shut, but I could picture the mental image of what happened to Zero yesterday…when he got so embarrassed, he went red, like his armour. I laughed even more at the mental image. His face…

"Hey!" Zero protested. "I was worried about you, you little s…squirt!" he continued, almost calling me a little shit.

"Oh…hahahaha, Zero, I'm so sorry." I looked up at him, still laughing, and apologized, even though I feel like I only mean it halfway, because… "But it's your face that snapped me out of my trauma flashback session, so…ahahahahaha…I thank you sooooo much for being expressive!"

I could hear Zero snort and holding his own laughter. But no more than a few seconds later, he broke out into a laughing fit.

Soon enough, both of us slowly stopped laughing at about the same time.

"Okay. Seriously now." Zero restarted the conversation. "Would telling me about Warfly and Hyenard make you feel better?" he continued with a gentle voice, his usual stoic tone fading away.

I relaxed along with him, and replied. "Yeah. That would be nice. I think we should start in order…I'll tell you about Warfly first."

"That guy…" Zero remarked, suppressing the anger in his voice, failing because he was close to growling. "You hated each other, didn't you? I know he was a jerkass, but I honestly don't know why he'd hate you, aside from possible incompatibility."

I scratched my head and sighed as the memories returned to me. "Okay, Zero, this is gonna be a long story, so I hope you can bear with it." I said, and I got a nod in response.

"He always gave me stink eyes and always treated me more rudely than everyone else. When I got a backbone, I confronted him about it, and he said that it's because I was the one who scarred Red's eye…" I explained.

"You know why? You wanna know why? You see the hideous fucking scar on Red's face, which he never talks to you about? It's your fucking fault, you overrated piece of shit!" Warfly's words from that time echoed in my mind. "You scratched his face with your bare hands like a rabid dog. He lost that eye because of you!"

"And then I wondered, does that mean Red secretly hated me because of it? Or did Red think I couldn't handle the truth? Red never liked talking about it, so I decided not to ask him. I decided to talk to Stonekong instead." I continued.

"Was what Warfly said true, Stonekong?"  
"Hmmm. I won't deny that what he said was true, but to be honest, there's more than just that."  
"So…Red's eye, it really is my fault…"  
"That is only partially true, Axl. It's not just you that was involved."  
"Mmhmm…"  
"Warfly…when we found you, he was there. You were very afraid of us. We couldn't blame you. You were alone, smaller than everyone present. And we were armed. So you attacked. Warfly believed he could take you on, but…"  
"But?"  
"He…well…let's just say he miscalculated, underestimated how deadly a cornered creature can be. The blow Red took was meant for him."  
"What…?"

As the flashback of my conversation with Stonekong filled my mind, I continued the story for Zero. "Stonekong told me the whole story instead of just one piece." I paused for a while to chuckle to myself over how much of a dick move that was.  
"It turns out that I was a bit of a scared animal when they found me, and I started attacking them. Warfly thought he could whoop my ass, but he was wrong. Red had to shield him, and that was why he lost his eye. It took me a few years to realize that he probably never hated me as much as he hated himself. He just…misdirected his self-hate towards me. Still, doesn't make him a 'little cherub', so to speak." I continued, smiling sadly at the end.

"I see…" Zero responded, nodding. "I remember you mentioning that he was strict with his unit?"

"Yeah, he was." I answered. "He gave them training from Poseidon's salty asshole, and they grew to be fine warriors." I continued, smirking at the end as I remembered the battle in the battleship. They were awesome guys. "But I don't think I wanna dwell in that topic now."

"That's fine, Axl." Zero replied. "Mind telling me about Hyenard, now?"

Feeling something pressing the inside of my head, I shut my eyes tightly to dull the sensation. However, the pain didn't stop when I feel the inside of my chest tightening, and I have to control my breathing again. Shuddering to let it all out, I know my answer.

"Sorry, Zero." I refused. "I think I have to pass for now."

"I understand." he said, nodding. I heaved a sigh of relief. I mean, I know he wouldn't force me. He wants to help me feel better. But still, I can't help but feel relieved anyways.

"If there's anything you want to tell me, just say it. We have some spare time anyways since Douglas isn't done with the special weapons yet." Zero explained. "He's still working on it, though. He still can't wait to see your guns transform." he chuckled.

"Really? I thought X is hogging the R&D lab?" I asked.

"We have a backup in case something like this happens. Wanna go see him now?" Zero offered.

"Sure. Let's go."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Initially, I wanted to take a short break from PMGR after the triple update, but I don't feel like doing my assignment, drawing, writing TViYH, reading, watching movies, or playing games. So I just decided to take the scenes out of my mind and do something productive with my time. Also, this is when you guys find out that I'm a business student. Maybe.  
_


	21. Chapter 16: SNOWFALL

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 16: Snowfall**

"Hey, Douglas." Zero greeted Douglas after the door to the backup R&D lab was open. "How's it going?"  
"Great, as usual. I see you took Axl with you! Just in time. I haven't finished your Bakuenjin program yet, but I did finish importing the DNA data into Axl's guns." Douglas answered. "Wanna give it a try?" he asked me.

"Sure." I answered, smiling softly at him. It's nice to have a few friendly people around in this hostile environment.

"Here you go." Douglas said, handing over my two guns. I took them and set it to load Hyenard's DNA data. The synchronization program told me that the guns will need to transform. My smile got wider. Douglas is going to like this.

Zero and Douglas watched in awe as my guns glowed in the process of transforming into a pair of entirely different guns. I set the sync program to announce on loudspeaker to further demonstrate the features of my copy program, to them.

"Gun ID: Double Bullet. Additional feature or features: One, automatic lock on. Over." the female computer voice announced the guns' particulars.

"Ho…wow, that is. Amazing!" Douglas expressed his amazement at what just happened. "I haven't seen that kind of thing before! And…the voice sounded familiar. Can't put my finger on it, but I've definitely heard that voice before. Ah, regardless. That was awesome! I get to be the first to see it!"

I laughed at his enthusiasm. It's been a while since I heard anyone express their amazement at my abilities properly. I feel warm and fuzzy inside, even though I didn't exactly earn this ability. But then again, I have to have earned it if I am able to hone it to get this far.

I turned to look at Zero, who was speechless, and blinking, almost making a goldfish face again. When he saw me look at him, he cleared his throat and put his poker face back on.

I set the sync program to only announce internally before I set the Double Bullet to load the special weapon, Circle Blaze, instead of the normal shots. "Douglas, I hope you don't mind if I try out Circle Blaze, too." I requested.

"Sure thing!" Douglas enthusiastically responded, and set up a few targets in front of me. "Good to go!" he announced. I nodded before aiming and shooting. Out came the flames, which hit the target, and exploded a short time later. I laughed briefly at the sight.

"Hyenard, I'm gonna miss you, even more than I already do." I muttered.

Keeping a sad smile on my face, I enjoyed the flash of memories that returned to me. When I defended him from bullies. When he dragged me into watching a ninja movie with him. When he finally decided to look for a mod to pursue his dream to become as close to becoming a typical ninja as possible. When he told me that my stealth-based combat is just as good as any other type, with its pros and cons. Nightly walks, whether it's just the two of us, or with other Red Alert members as well. Our many sparring sessions.

I felt something warm roll down my cheek—a teardrop. I wiped it.

"Feeling better?" Douglas gently spoke to me. "He'll always be with you this way."  
"Yeah, I am." I responded, turning to face him. "Thanks, Douglas. It makes me feel even better."

It still kind of hurts inside, but Douglas is right. Even if our relationship ended in a bloody mess, at least Hyenard is at peace now, and he told me before I left, that he treasured our friendship. It's okay now.

Zero smiled briefly at us before turning to Douglas to ask him: "How's X doing?"  
"Haven't called me yet." Douglas answered. "Every single time I call him he just said: 'Sorry Doug, can't talk yet. I'll call you later' or something like that." he continued, shrugging.

"Well, guess it can't be helped." Zero responded. "Bit worried about him, but he's immune to the virus. Which reminds me…Axl, do you feel like talking about the Professor?"

I gritted my teeth upon hearing that name. The son of a bitch…

"I'll have to tell you sooner or later, and I'd rather tell everyone sooner. This is good timing, actually. We have nothing much to do, right?" I answered Zero, suppressing the anger in my voice.

"Then let's go to the command room. Bye Doug, see you later." Zero said to Douglas. I waved at him with a small smile as we walked away.

"Bye, guys. Have a nice day." Douglas bade us farewell before the door shut behind us.

Upon arriving in front of the command room, Zero pressed the intercom button.  
"Yes, hello, Zero. What is it?" Alia's voice was heard from the intercom, addressing Zero, as she has seen us from the camera on the ceiling.  
"Axl's going to talk about the Professor who started all this. Do you have time?" Zero stated his business.  
"Yes. Yes, we certainly do." Alia answered before opening the command room door for us. We stepped in to see Alia and Signas sitting on their desks.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen." Signas addressed us. Zero saluted in response. "Commander Signas." he addressed Signas. Not feeling like I should salute since I'm not a hunter yet, I simply bowed my head.

"So, Axl, you're finally telling us about the Professor." Signas said. "You may begin."

"Alright." I responded. "So this Professor, he approached Red Alert like, a few weeks after X retired, offering power, seemingly without a price, telling us that he 'sympathized with our cause' or something. I always had bad vibes about him. He's a creepy guy, always staring at me like he's gonna lock me in his wardrobe." I explained.

"Has he ever done anything to you?" Signas asked.

"Mmmm…aside from asking for DNA data, he took me…inside a secret chamber in the lab he set up. Not even Red or our go-to for tech support, Anteator, is allowed in there. So it was just him and me. And every single time we went in there, he locked the door. Five times over. That's advanced security right there. And every time, he'd tell me to go inside a capsule, and sleep." I answered, my poker face turning into a frown. "I…I never really found out what he did to me during those sessions."

I saw Alia having a quite unique expression on her face…a mixture of worry and disgust. "Axl…have you felt anything different after those sessions? Like, difficulties walking? Your head spinning?" she asked me.

"Um, no. Nothing different. And he always found it strange how I felt nothing different after each session. I speculate that it's his attempt to upgrade me." I answered.

"How does this Professor look like?" Signas asked, remaining stoic, but there's a bit of worry reflected in his eyes.

"I…none of us have ever seen his full face. He wears a hood, in addition to a cloak. So he kind of looks like the grim reaper, just way bigger. Ah, yeah, he's really big. Kind of like Commander Signas, just a bit bigger." I elaborated.

"Commander, could it be Sigma?" Alia asked, her expression turning from worried to afraid.

"I don't know." Signas answered, his eyes narrowed. "X and Zero completely obliterated Gate's flawed recreation of him. And even then, his mind was too broken to function properly. Am I right, Zero?"

"Oh yeah, his speech in particular was absolutely wonderful." Zero responded. "Oh yeah, Axl. Did this Professor ever speak weird?"

"Sigma, huh…" I muttered. Having known of the bare bones of the history of the greatest maverick known to man, I can understand why everyone instantly thinks that the Professor might be Sigma. Sigma was the instigator of every major reploid crisis, and he keeps on coming back. "No, never. He speaks like a normal person." I answered.

"I guess Sigma's gone for good after all." Alia heaved a sigh of relief. "But still, he might just be someone just as threatening. Red Alert was a big group, and he destroyed it from the inside…"

"There's only one way to find out." Signas responded. "Anything else you have to tell us about the Professor?"

"Ah, yeah!" I said as a flash of memory returned to me. "I remember now. Shortly after we acquired the Sigma Virus MK. II, the Professor approached us. And then this secret chamber…one of our guys wanted to deliver something he asked for. The Professor told him to just drop it off in front of the lab entrance, but he insisted on giving it to the Professor himself, and approached the locked chamber door. And then he went maverick…" I told the story. "Ever since then, the Professor had used at least two layers to lock the chamber door...and once, I saw him load the virus into the capsule after I got in there..."

I paused when I saw everybody's eyes widen. Silence filled the room for a few minutes until Signas said to me: "Go on."

"That's it." I responded. "It goes without saying that he's messing around with it, or he was after it from the get-go to achieve something unknown. Even with his numerous experiments, he never went crazy."

"It's unmistakeable. It must be Sigma, Commander." Alia said.

"That possibility is logical. However, we can't rule out the possibility of another reploid immune to the virus. Axl can possibly be a new addition to the list, considering that he never felt different after the Professor's sessions." Signas answered.

"You're right. First it was X, then it was Zero, to a smaller extent. And then, there's…"

An announcement jingle interrupted Alia's exposition. Afterwards, X's voice was heard.

"X here, I had to destroy Hyenard's head after the virus concentration got too thick and I was in too much pain to analyse it further. The main R&D lab will be sealed for the day. I apologize for the inconvenience. There's no need to send medics for me. I'll be fine."

I heaved a sigh. I had a sneaking suspicion that they'll fail. If they had been trying for ages to develop a cure and never succeeded, then it's likely that they can't ever do it. Why did I keep my hopes up?

Zero looked at me sadly and placed his hand on my shoulder to reassure me.

"Thanks, Zero." I responded to him. "But it's fine."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Out came another chapter, marking a double update for this weekend, mostly because I don't feel like drawing. The sync program announcer's voice is actually Rosa/Rho Wily's voice. The transforming guns were her idea. Did the Professor creep you out? I was certainly creeped out. Also, if anyone gets the FNAFB3 reference in there, have a hot bird ass._


	22. Chapter 17: ASHES

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 17: Ashes**

Collecting the bombs was easy because all of Boarski's gang members had left him. Well, it wasn't a walk in the park. Boarski, in his rage, had decided to finish his horror attraction alone.

"As for my squad, we had extended the bombs' timers. We couldn't turn them off, or else Chief Boarski would have noticed and killed us all. As you have noticed, the Professor's meddling made him a monster. Please put him out of his misery, Sir!"

The words of Tanaka, one of Boarski's gang members, echoed in my head. He had sent me an e-mail shortly after I told the Hunters about the Professor:

"Commander Axl, brace yourself for the battle with Chief Boarski. Before we left, the Central Highway ruins was simply riddled with bombs. I sent a drone to see what was going on, and…well, let's just say Chief Boarski decided to get creative, do something productive with his time while he waited for you."

I had sent him a reply, asking him to elaborate. He didn't reply.

Boarski had installed electrical parts and destroyed a portion of the highway's remains to make a ramp, probably to amp up the difficulty. Well, it certainly didn't cause us to fail, nor did it do anything to both Zero's and my morale.

But what we saw as we walked to Boarski's arena, however, shattered our hearts.

Zero was left speechless as he backed away slowly. I quickly looked away sideways.

My body tensed as I coughed and snorted. I never liked the smell of disgusting organic matter such as the excretion of humans and animals, or rotting corpses. Nobody really likes that kind of smell, but I hate it more than the average person, human or reploid.

Feeling the contents of what I had ingested prior to the battle threatening to leave my body from my mouth, I shut it tight and covered it with my hands as I struggled with the half-digested energy pushing up my throat. My eyes are half-open, my sight blurred.

"Urk…" I grunted as I struggled not to vomit.

"A-Axl." Zero blurted out, having been snapped to reality by my voice. "D-don't puke."

I know, Zero, I know…  
I'll need my energy if I'm going to fight…whatever's left of Boarski.

This isn't Boarski. Boarski would never do this. It's the Professor. The Professor's done this again. He desecrated my friend. Boarski may have been a short-tempered guy, but he had a strong sense of justice and a big heart. And last but not least, a soft spot for animals…

"Holy hell…" Alia remarked through the comm. "This is just fucked up."  
I could hear X's snivelling through the comm as well. "Why, of all things to have happened…"

"Alia, can you open the map from before the Central Highway incident?" Signas asked, his voice still stern and calm, albeit a bit softer than usual.

I heard the sounds as she opened the map.

"I knew it…" Alia remarked after the previous map was opened. "That dog shelter was here."

The rotting corpses of dogs and a few humans in uniform that are littering the place make sense now. By their mangled, dismembered state, it was obvious that they didn't rest in peace. The wheel marks on the humans' dirty uniforms was enough for me to tell who the culprit behind this massacre was. Flies had decided to breed and give birth in here. Many maggots are currently feasting on and inhabiting the remains of the corpses.

I forced myself to swallow as I uncover my mouth. There's something I need to say…  
"Zero…please…I can't…I can't take this anymore." I spoke as I took out my Double Bullet. "I hope you don't mind if I use Circle Blaze early…"

"No, Axl. If anyone's using up their weapon energy, let it be me." Zero replied with a slightly shaky voice. "Bakuenjin can only be used once before I need to refill myself to the brim. At least you can land a few hits, especially with that auto lock-on guns..." he continued as he readied his stance. "Stay close to me. I don't want you to get caught in the blast."

I quickly stepped over to him until we were only centimetres apart. Zero then proceeded to punch the ground with all his might, causing a bright, hot ring of fire to erupt in the area around us. It quickly swallowed the corpses, the flies and the maggots. I let my tears flow as I watched the ring of fire disintegrate the disgusting scene.

If I hadn't left, the Professor would probably make me into cruel, demented, mindless, heartless hunks of metal like what he had done to Hyenard and Boarski. Warfly…heh, Warfly was always a jerk, but I can't deny that he's tough. Maybe that's why he never really changed. I can't help but respect him more because of this.

My sight blurred by the tears, I quickly wiped them just in time to see the ring of fire disappear, revealing nothing but the ashes of the corpses, flies and maggots.

"That…" I said, my voice slightly distorted by me tearing up earlier. "That was a good cremation, Zero."

"Don't mention it." Zero remarked. "Thanks for giving me the idea. I feel more peaceful now." he continued, his voice fully calm.

"Let's just go. My heart can't take anymore." I said as I stepped forward, walking quickly to Boarski's arena, Zero following me.

We arrived in the arena to find it a sturdy, yet roughly-assembled arena made of the steel doors from the dog shelter. Looking down at it from a broken part of the highway, we spotted lasers around the arena. I guess this is a fight to the death. I glanced at Zero to find him glaring at Boarski, who was pacing back and forth, yet to notice our presence.

"Zero?" I whispered. "Whether you want to take my word is up to you. But I just want to say that Boarski's a great guy with a great sense of justice. And he really loved animals."

"If you weren't full of heart from the very beginning, I wouldn't have, Axl." Zero responded, whispering as well, getting the memo that I want to have a short conversation without Boarski knowing. "So okay. I believe you. And I can't wait to get to the Professor so I can tear him apart."

"Save some for me when we get there. We jump?" I said.

"Yeah." Zero responded before jumping down. I followed after him, and we landed a few meters in front of Boarski.

"Arggggh!" Boarski roared. "I've been waiting for you for so long! I'm rotting in here, you insufferable pieces of garbage!" Boarski glanced at me before continuing his roaring rant. "Especially YOU! You traitor! I'm going to tear you to pieces, just like what I would've done to those little traitors who rigged the bombs…"

"You mean, like what you actually did to the whole dog shelter?" I countered with a weak voice. I would've yelled at him in normal circumstances, but right now my heart is sinking. Boarski isn't himself anymore. And this…thing, what remains of Boarski, had done something unforgiveable.

"Arrrrrrrrrrr…will you shut the fuck up! I can't trust anything you say anymore!" Boarski argued back, still yelling. "Red gave you a home, a loving father, and he taught him everything you know, and this is how you decided to repay him? You're a heartless piece of shit, Axl!"

"And you're a hypocrite." I shot back at him. "You're an ignorant hypocrite who has no fucking idea why I left Red Alert in the first place. If you'd just take some time to look at yourself and what you had just done, and what the Professor had just done, maybe you'd sit down, be a good boy, and let me do my job. You're not yourself, Boarski, and we know it." I flatly continued.

"Did you listen to me?" Boarski roared. "I said I can't trust anything you say anymore!"

Boarski tossed a bomb at my face. I quickly caught it and threw it back at his, and it exploded right as it hit his snout.

Zero whistled as he witnessed the sight before taking out his beam saber. "Nice start, Axl. Let's get this over with." he said.

"Oink-wa-! You brat! I ought to take the likes of you and…! A duel! Just you and me!" Boarski raved in response. The explosion from earlier had broken his eyes. He quickly readied himself to enter his four-wheeled mode, and started spinning around the arena aimlessly.

"Isn't this pitiful?" I remarked with a soft voice as I took out my Double Bullet.  
"Axl, what do we do?" Zero asked me, knowing that I know about Boarski more than him.

"We stay around the edges and take care not to get roasted by the lasers. I'll follow you. I hope you don't mind covering me. I'm smaller, and he'll run me over if he gets me, and I don't wanna be pancaked." I told him our strategy.

"Any reasons why?" he asked.

"You'll know later…" I answered as I reverted one of the Double Bullet guns into my normal guns, before shooting Boarski with the Copy Shot. I smirked as I watched the shot hit him even though he was a quickly moving target. I changed the gun back into the Double Bullet afterwards.

As we made it to the edges, Boarski looked around for us, but his flawed sight didn't help him much.

I whistled, and he turned right at me and Zero.  
"You think you're smart, huh? You're not gonna make it out of here alive!" he growled and activated a laser trap—it started from a laser ball in the center of the arena before it stretched into three laser beams that spin around and end in laser balls.

"Damn." Zero muttered under his breath.  
"This won't last, but let's stay around here to be safe, even when it's gone." I replied as I programmed the Double Bullet to load Circle Blaze, aimed at the standing, panting Boarski, before pulling both triggers.

Both of the fireballs hit Boarski, the impact reducing him to his knees afterwards. He roared in anger as he prepared to charge.

"Zero, dodge." I whispered before running to the side. I looked sideways, hoping to see Zero doing the same.

Zero...what are you doing?

Are you crazy?

Why are you standing there, not moving? And why are you hunched, as if waiting to catch something?

"Zero! Did you hear me? I said dodge!" I yelled at him this time, feeling a stinging pain in my chest as I swallowed the possibility of Boarski hearing it as well. But Zero didn't budge, even after I yelled at him. What's he planning?

"Zero, he's gonna run you over!" I yelled at him again.  
"No." Zero growled. "No, he's not."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGH!" Boarski roared before he charged, right at Zero.

"ZEROOO! MOOOVE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I don't want him to get hurt, dammit! Listen to me! Please!

My heart skipped a beat. The sound of metal crunching was heard. Zero's grunt followed afterwards. I gasped.

Zero managed to block the charging Boarski with his bare hands. I could make out one hand grabbing the edge of Boarski's snout. I ran over to Zero, and I saw the other hand's fingers digging into Boarski's eye sockets.

Oh god, even for a desecrated Boarski, that was brutal. I shut my eyes tightly for a second before opening them to see Zero pulling his hand out of Boarski's eye sockets. He used his other hand to squeeze Boarski's snout until it cracked before letting it go.

"Aaahh…aaaaaahhh…" Boarski groaned in pain, and at the realization that he is now fully blind.

Zero stepped away from the distraught, shocked Boarski, who was shaking, kneeling as he lamented his sight without being able to say a word.

"Am I…dead?" Boarski questioned with a weak voice, having seen nothing but black.

"No, Boarski." I replied softly as I aimed my Circle Blaze-loaded Double Bullet at him. "But you'll soon be."

"Am I going to hell?" Boarski questioned again. This time, that softer voice brought the memories back to me. The memories of Boarski, the good, big-hearted leader of his happy gang. The loving big guy who loved singing karaoke with Tonion. The jolly drinking buddy who loved taking care of stray animals around the Crimson Palace.

"It's not for me to judge." I replied again, my voice distorted as my tears flowed down again before I pulled both triggers. The barrel of the Double Bullet spewed fireballs that hit Boarski, and I watched as the fireballs burned him. I stood there until the fireballs disappeared, leaving nothing but ashes.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This chapter felt like a punch to the gut to me. The scenes flowed really quickly the moment I decided to write. Happy New Year 2016 to all my readers._


	23. Chapter 18: WARMTH

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 18: Warmth**

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _To answer aylengm's question as to why Axl can cry, it's because post-X3, two scientists from the Light and Wily families (Mentioned previously in Chapter 10 as being his creators) revolutionized reploidkind by making them more human-like via scientific innovations.  
After their (slight) humanization of reploids, reploids created can eat, drink, cry and, well…have sex. They don't need to excrete, they don't get pregnant and they don't get sick like humans, though, and they're still as durable and long-lasting as the robots they actually are.  
You sure are sharp for noticing that, though._

* * *

"You awake?"

Zero's voice was the first thing I heard after I opened my eyes.

"Guess so." was my groggy-sounding reply.

Because Circle Blaze was so effective against Boarski, it turned him into ashes, there was next to nothing for the Hunters to salvage from his original body. I had to shapeshift into Boarski for hours.  
Considering that I was able to shapeshift into Cedar—someone I killed about a week ago, who is a reploid only slightly bigger than me—shapeshifting into Boarski wasn't a problem. Staying shapeshifted for hours, even while I was hooked to energy machines, was what took the toll on me. The hardest thing to do was staying conscious and shapeshifted while they opened me up to take a look at Boarski's systems and wait until Douglas and Gate figured something out. I don't really remember what happened in the last tests, mostly because I was really tired by that time, and was struggling to stay conscious.

Recalling the events prior to my slumber returned my self-awareness to me. I feel myself lying face-up on something soft, and a plug connected to the back of my neck. This space is so narrow, I can't move—a healing pod?

"Douglas and Gate want me to apologize on their behalf when you're up." Zero interrupted my thoughts when he noticed my head turning slightly. "They're busy right now, that's why."

"I see…well, to me, it's no problem. Circle Blaze is Boarski's weakness, alright, but no one expected it would reduce him to nothing but a lump of ashes." I chuckled. "No one wanted for this to have happened, so I understand."

Zero smirked softly at me.

"You may look like a kid, but I admit you don't have the mental maturity of one." he remarked.

I laughed. "Took you how long to believe what I said?"

"Pfff, shut up." he sheepishly responded. "Fully charged yet?" he asked.

"Ninety percent," I answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Because if I'm staying here until you hit one hundred percent, we might as well talk." Zero answered.

"Zero, did Douglas or Gate ask you to watch over me? Or are you afraid of haters breaking this pod to break me?" I asked. He really didn't have to. I…I feel bad for keeping him here when he could've done more important things.

"No, they didn't. I just get increasingly worried about you." Zero answered. "Yes, there's the possibility of other hunters doing that, but heavy vandalism of public recharge pods, especially when there's premeditated assault involved, is a severe offense which can get any hunter either fired or retired, so no one really does that. I don't know why, but I feel that I can't leave you alone."

"Go on…" I said. It does sound like he's treating me like a kid again, but he just admitted that I'm way more mature than one. There's got to be another reason, and I want to hear it.

"What is there to continue?" Zero asked back.

"Well, I'm a bit curious. Why do you feel like you can't leave me alone?" I explained myself, trying my best to sound as docile as possible. I don't want him to think that I think he's being condescending.

"Because if I don't, you'll be all alone. And that's terrible. No one deserves to get through that, especially in an environment where, give or take, thirty percent of the hunters here are willing to at least verbally assault you." Zero answered.

I smiled at him. "Thanks, Zero. You didn't have to do that, but I appreciate it." I said.

A sudden sounding of the doorbell made me twitch in the pod. "Who is it?" Zero hollered at the door. Which brings me to a forgotten, yet important question: Where am I? Am I still in the R&D room?

"It's X." came the reply. "Can I come in?"  
"Sure, X." Zero responded.

The door opened and X walked in the room, the door closing by the time he sat beside Zero. When he settled down, X smiled at me.

"How are you feeling, Axl?" he said to me.

I shuddered and bit my lip lightly. Even the sound of his voice still unsettles me. Noticing those tiny gestures, X's smile shrunk. Ah, I'm sorry, X. Yeah, I really am. You were trying to look as docile as possible to make up for what you did. I guess both of us are trying to make up for what we've done, huh?

"Ninety percent recharged," I replied. "And a bit sleepy. When I hit one hundred percent, I think I'm taking a long shower…" I sighed.

"Can't blame you, I did, too." Zero added. "And that was a daaaaaaaaaamn long shower…"

X laughed. "With your hair, your showers are always long, Zero. I like going with you to the supermarket, just so I can watch you and watch people stare at you in the shampoo section."

Zero's response to that was to pull X's cheek hard, so much to the point that X leaned to the direction of the pulling.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, oooooooooooow!" X cried out in-between laughing fits. "No! I'm not sorry!"

I laughed at the scene. It reminds me of the old days all over again when I used to hear all about X and Zero, the Maverick Hunters' "Golden Combination". After losing my friends one by one, it feels nice to witness a heartwarming display of close friendship.

"Well, speaking of hair…" Zero said after he let go of X's cheek before quickly pulling off X's helmet. "His hair looks like a duck butt." Zero commented on the shape X's brown hair.

Oh god, duck butt hair. That's the best line I've heard allllll day…

I laughed again. I haven't laughed this much out of genuine mirth in a long time. It feels good. Who knew X's presence and his words can lighten up the mood this much.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Zero cried out when X pulled his hair in retaliation. "I regret nothing!" Zero said when X let go of his hair to take his helmet back from Zero before placing it back on his head.

"Now that you've seen our hairdos, it's your turn to show us yours, if you feel like it, of course." X said.

"Yeah, I keep seeing that pineapple-style ponytail and these days, I think of what your hair looks like down as I toss and turn before falling asleep." Zero added, remarking.

"Oh my god, Zero, are you serious?" I laughed, not only at my ponytail being referred to as pineapple-style, but also at the last part.

Zero pouted. "Yes. Yes I am. It drove me nuts last night thinking how much hair gel do you go through every month." he added, his tone deadpan, yet serious.

I laughed more. No, Zero. I don't touch that thing. Not unless I need to disguise myself when I don't have the right DNA to transform.

"I want to get up and take my helmet off, but will I get plugged off?" I asked.

"No, you won't. The cable's pretty long; it just doesn't look like it because the roll is under the pod bed." X answered.

"Alright…" I said as the glass case of the capsule opened in response to my mental suggestion. I sat up and placed my hand on my helmet to remove it, but stopped when I saw Zero staring intently at me.

Zero, you're making the goldfish eyes again. It's like you're staring at a dinosaur egg about to hatch, when really, I'm just taking my helmet off.

"I should photograph this scene and add a Brazzers logo in the photo." X chuckled to himself.

I turned his head to stare at him. X. The baby-faced hunter in baby blue. Mentioning an "adult" site. If it's Zero the manly heartthrob, I wouldn't be surprised. But it's X. Someone who'd look absolutely fitting in a priest outfit. Sure enough, the practice of pasting Brazzers's logo in seemingly innocent pictures is a well-known source of juvenile humour, but still.

"X. What." I blurted out.

"Just ignore him and take it off already." Zero urged me.

"See, you just proved my point!" X laughed at Zero, prompting me to cough and laugh as well as I pulled the helmet off my head, letting my hair fall down.

"Oh, oh, oooooooohhhhh!" Zero hollered as he stared at my hair.

"Darn it, Zero, you keep adding to the joke." X chuckled to himself.

"It looks like a reddish Christmas tree, especially with that thick standing strand of hair on the top of his head!" Zero commented.

I burst out laughing for the umpteenth time within the hour at the comment. That sure is one way to describe it…

"Kind of like Zero's hair, just shorter and a bit spikier…" X remarked. "But it looks so fluffy."

"You think so?" I asked, smiling sheepishly as I felt down the back of my head. "I guess you're right…"

"Can I stroke it?" X asked, still staring at my hair. "I want to know whose hair is fluffier."

I chuckled at his adorably childish-sounding request. I don't know why, I feel comfortable hearing it even though I wouldn't let him touch me anywhere else. I think it's because of how innocent his request is…

"Sure, X." I accepted his request, bowing my head slightly to make it easy for him.

I stayed still as X gently stroked my hair. I felt warm and fluffy on the inside. Even though I don't like him all that much anymore, my former role model is patting my head. It feels good. I used to dream of this happening, even if it's more of a head pat of approval and less like…well, this. I feel my lips curving into a small smile in response to the thought.

"So cute." X commented. Maybe he noticed? "And so fluffy. I could do this all day. Do you comb your hair?"

"Y-yes. Once in a while." I answered, a bit stuttery. I sure hope he didn't notice that I'm…flustered.

"See, Zero. This is why you should comb your hair." X said to Zero, still stroking my hair. "Your hair is fluffy, but it wrecks the mood sometimes when I'm touching it because it gets rough in some areas."

"Excuse me, X. Try combing this bush." Zero argued back, folding his arms. "I dare you to get it done in five minutes or less without causing my scalp excruciating pain."

"Then why don't you trim that bush down?" X asked, chuckling at the end.

"You know we love it like this." Zero answered before he slowly and dramatically took off his helmet and flipped his hair equally dramatically afterwards. Damn, he sure looks good in Rapunzel-length blond hair. Even if it's more practical for him to get it trimmed, I don't think it would feel right.

"Oh my god, Zero. You should go apply for a shampoo ad, especially considering you use so many of them…" I laughed at him and what he had done. "They'd be thrilled to have you!"

"No, Zero. Not interested. I've found a fluffier head. You have to git gud." X said, still chuckling, and still petting my head.

"You have two hands!" Zero responded, placing both hands on his hips.

"Comb your hair, then I'll see whose head really is fluffier!" X laughed.

I laughed after him. Never mind I don't really know where this room is now. Never mind I don't really know how long I'd been out and what time it is. Never mind I'm one hundred percent charged. Right now, it doesn't matter. I just want this happy moment to last.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Do you love this chapter? I do. With a passion. Also, for your information, in my headcanon, X has the exact same hairdo as Megaman. As for Axl's hair, well...I have pictures in my deviantART. It's best seen in the Believer Form design and the picture of his black-and-white starting armour in my gallery. If you wanna find my dA, it's Shinryuu-Uroborus. _

_On another note, I'm leaving my internship soon. Also, Axl is so cute._


	24. Bonus Chapter 4: SIN

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Bonus Chapter 4: Sin**

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _Another bonus chapter in X's perspective. You'll know why very soon._

* * *

"He fell asleep…" I spoke in a soft voice as I looked at Axl's face. He looks so calm and tranquil, sleeping like a baby in my arms.

"You didn't stop patting him, that's why." Zero responded, his voice equally soft. "Is he fully charged?" he asked.

"'Mnot planning to stop." I said, patting Axl's head again, but gentler this time. His hair is so soft and fluffy, and I don't want to let him go or put him down, even though… "He's fully charged alright." I answered.

"Why don't you wake him up, X? He told us he's planning to take a shower." Zero said.

I sighed. "I know, I know…now that you pointed it out, I feel selfish for keeping him like this. But look at him, isn't he cute?"

"X, even though he looks like a fuzzy animal right now, he isn't one, nor is he your pet." Zero sternly reminded me. "I know you want to take him under your wing, and it's probably your maternal—ehh, paternal instinct speaking, but he's not a kid. At least, not anymore."

"That means I can't raise him anymore, can I?" I responded, a sad smile on my face. Who knew a little reploid like Axl's been through so much? Granted, as the oldest one in the room, and in HQ, I've been through more than anyone else in here. But it doesn't mean I can invalidate or look down on other people or their struggles. Even as the world's oldest living reploid, I still have much to learn. "I want to share my morals with him, but it's likely that he's got a set of them of his own…"

"You can share your morals with him, X. You just can't control if he accepts it or not. Maybe he'll accept part of it, if it makes you feel any better." Zero replied.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked, my tone hopeful. Because, well, I am. If there's a profession I'd accept in a heartbeat, it's to be the world's biggest teacher. I feel that there's so much I want to tell the reploids of the world. I have so much to share. I want them to listen. But I guess I can't dictate what people want to do. But still, with the ongoing chaos, humans are starting to get racist, unlike in the earlier days. If I can at least share my perspective to just one other person, especially someone so young, then it would be great.

"Let's just say it's part of what we talked about that I couldn't tell you at first." Zero answered. I leaned forward slightly at him. I want to hear more. Zero can finally tell me what Axl told him. Granted, he might not be able to tell everything, at least for now, but still. "Axl's here to improve. He's here to change. He knows he's done a lot of bullshit in the past more than anyone in here, and he doesn't like it." he continued.

"Really, Zee?" I said, suppressing the volume of my voice. If Axl wasn't here, or sleeping, I would've cried out in excitement. Finally, someone else shares my sentiments…but I can't get too excited. I didn't even let Zero finish. "What exactly do you mean by that?" I asked.

Zero heaved a long sigh. I tensed. What do you mean, I might not like this, Zee? I won't know until you tell me. But I won't force you if you're trying to think.

"He wants to make up for his wrongdoings by doing good things under the Maverick Hunters. He wants to join." Zero stated, in a flat voice. There was no sugar-coating this.

I held Axl closer, almost squeezing him, and bit my lip. "Not again…" I muttered. I was right not to keep my hopes up.  
Given reploid crisis after crisis, we were always over-glorified. I hate it. We are not a prevention, just a cure. And even then, people still die. I want to look for a prevention, or even be that prevention. That's why I retired, but I guess Axl didn't get the memo…but then again, no one did. I can't blame anyone at all, because apparently, instead of being a prevention, I became part of the disease. Crime rate rose after my retirement, because of my retirement…

"I'm sorry, X." Zero apologized, even though he didn't do anything wrong.  
"I don't blame you for hiding this from me for so long. I know it's a painful truth and it would be hard for me to swallow it." I explained as I stroked Axl's hair some more. "Heck, I don't even know if I can swallow it. I really want to coax him out of joining."

"Problem is, he's got a very good reason to join." Zero replied. "And you've got a very good reason to prevent him from joining. So here I am, stuck trying to reconcile two equally valid perspectives…"

"I'm sorry, Zee." it was my turn to apologize. It's not right for anyone, me included, to force my wants on someone else and attempt to rule their life. But at the same time, I've been through a lot of things and I have a lot of experience. At least, I want that by the time Axl makes his decision, he's taken what I'd like to tell him to heart, by the time I get to tell him.

But will he listen by then? Has he forgiven me?

I chuckled. "But I guess if there's anyone I have to apologize to, it's Axl, isn't it?"

"You've apologized to him already, and look at him right now. If he's still mad at you, he wouldn't even fall asleep in your arms. Hell, I bet he wouldn't even let you touch him." Zero explained.

"He was still afraid of me, Zee. Did you notice him tense when I first said hi to him?" I pressed. Hopefully Zero can explain this one…I want to be wrong, so badly.

"Well, you sure fixed it by the end of the talk." Zero said. "I don't know what's going on in his mind, 'cos I can't read it. But there are things that I can pick up."

"You're right…thanks, Zee." I thanked him, relieved. Zero was right. I did see him smile slightly when I pet him. It was so adorable. Up until now, I couldn't forget that expression on his face when I…pointed my buster at him. It was a mix of so much shock and sadness, I swear he almost teared up. At least I can remember this instead. It hurt me knowing I hurt him really badly, in just one split second of anger. I was ready to face the possibility that I'd never live it down in his eyes, but I'm glad it'll never come to that.

But I probably had lost some of his respect because of my retirement. It doesn't matter whether I'll explain myself or not. The rise of the crime rate and the casualties caused by the domino flick that was my retirement can't be denied, and my explanation will never undo what had been done.

I wonder, does that make me a maverick now?

"X." Zero called out to me. I jumped a bit. "You're spacing out. Sorry to stop your train of thoughts, but…"

"Wuh-ah, right. What is it, Zero?" I asked.

"I still think you have to let Axl go." Zero said. "Um—I mean, to the shower." he continued when he realized that I might interpret it as him telling me to stop thinking I can educate Axl. He was right…it was my first thought, actually.

I chuckled. "Alright."  
Even if Axl's forgiven me now, I still think that he might find waking up in my arms awkward. We're still acquaintances. I gently put him down on the pod bed before gently shaking him.  
"Axl, wake up." I said. "Wake up."

It took Axl a few seconds to stir and open his eyes.

"What…? I…what happened?" he stammered out. "Did I doze off again?"

"Blame X's endless petting." Zero answered, pouting.

"Still salty about having your place taken, Zero?" I teased. I still stand by the statement that he's better off combing his hair. I sure hope he didn't take me seriously when I brought up trimming it. It's just not Zero-like.

Axl groaned, still groggy from waking up. "How long have I been out?" he asked.

"Give or take, 45 minutes." Zero answered. "You're fully charged, by the way."

"I noticed…" Axl said. "Thanks for keeping me company, guys. I really appreciate it. I gotta go shower now, though." he continued, smiling as he put his helmet back on his head. So adorable. I want to take him home. But it would mean him joining the Hunters. But I don't mind if he joins as part of the R&D team or something. We already know he has value in that department, and he's even closer to being immune to the Maverick virus.

Upon contact with the virus, I always feel pain. Being in an area where the virus concentration is thick is even worse. And I don't even want to start with Zero. Meanwhile, Axl doesn't even feel anything, apparently, upon being stuffed in a capsule full of the virus. Who knows, Axl's systems might just be the key to making vaccines for currently existing reploids?

A siren interrupted my thoughts and made us all jump. Alia's voice was heard afterwards, and it calmed me a bit knowing what's going on:

"Incoming call from Red Alert Headquarters! This is Alia, and we need Zero and Axl in the command room ASAP, over!"

Axl rubbed his eyes and papped his cheek a few times to wake himself up even more before asking Zero. "I never got the chance to ask…where is this? How do I get to the command room from here?"

"R&D room resting quarters." Zero answered quickly. "Just follow me for now. We gotta hurry." he continued before turning to the door. Axl followed him, and I followed as well.

When we got to the command room, the monitor above Commander Signas displayed the face of the caller. It was a reploid whom I do not know.

"Anteator…" Axl muttered. "What the hell?"

"Greetings, and I am Snipe Anteator." the reploid introduced himself. "I see you've done well taking care of Warfly, Hyenard and Boarski. Knowing this order, I'd be next, wouldn't I?" he chuckled.

"You know what you used to tell me, old man." Axl remarked, a soft smirk on his face. Clearly, they've known each other, and they're quite close. "Know yourself, and know your enemies."

Snipe Anteator smiled before continuing. "I would like to inform you Hunters that you do not need to trouble yourself to teleport all the way to the Crimson Palace and drag your bodies here. I propose a much more convenient alternative, which isn't so different anyways.  
What if we fight in my Cyber Field? We will plug ourselves to enter, and everything will be just like a normal physical battle. And that also means that you will die in the real world if you die there."

I tensed. I always find this concept unnerving, even though, as he said, it's the same as a real physical battle, but still…

"Are you sure you haven't riddled it with traps and deliberate handicaps to our side?" I asked, glaring at him. However, it earned me a glare from Axl. I raised my eyebrows and Axl's glare softened slightly, but he's still frowning at me. I know Anteator is part of his family, but we never know what'll happen. The Professor had turned reploids into demented versions of themselves. Anteator may sound sane now, but there's no knowing what'll happen later, or what he had done to the Cyber Field behind our back. Besides, betrayal isn't a concept foreign to me…

"The former, yes. The latter, no." Anteator answered, his voice calm, as if he was expecting the question. "I value a fair fight just as much as everybody else here, and in fact, your side has more advantages, given that my trainees had cut the Cyber Field before they left." he continued, chuckling. "However, this doesn't mean I'm going to spoil you and hand myself over on a silver platter. If I am to die, at least I want to die in the hands of capable people. You can take my word about the Cyber Field being clear of viruses. In fact, go ahead and scan it now. I'll wait."

Alia gasped in surprise. "The security's completely open, except we still can't tamper with it…" she then started running the scan program. We waited a few minutes in silence as it ran, until Alia declared the results. "All…all clear! Still a few obstacles, but no viruses or other handicaps!"

Axl smirked in response, and I sighed in relief.

"What do you say, ladies and gentlemen? Do you accept my proposal?" Anteator asked.

"Yes." Commander Signas replied. "As soon as we are ready, we will deploy our hunters for this mission."

"Excellent. I'll be patient. I know you won't keep me waiting for too long. When you've plugged in, I'll know." Anteator said. "Good evening." he ended the call.

Well, that was…surprisingly, unexpectedly relaxing.

"Have Douglas and Gate finished the weapons yet?" Axl asked, anxiety in his voice.

"Why are you in so much of a hurry?" Zero asked him. "Anteator just said that he'll be patient. There's no need to rush. You have to be in top condition for every mission, you know."

"You're right, Zero, I just…I just know that he's on his last legs. Anteator's not exactly young, and the Professor's forced him and his body past its limit many times for this past month." Axl explained.

I felt something pushing behind my eyes, and yet I don't feel like crying. It sucks being trapped in this limbo where you want, but do not want to cry. Regardless, I feel for Anteator, and the rest of Red Alert. They're pawns under the Professor again. Or to be exact, Sigma. Only Sigma is heartless enough to use people like this like they're nothing. He's no different from the racist humans who treat reploids like tools.

"Not you, too…" Zero groaned when he noticed me. "Listen. From what we've seen, even if Anteator IS on his last legs, he can wait until tomorrow, can't he? He said he doesn't want some nameless grunt to retire him. If he has that confidence, and we can see that he's got it for a reason, of course he's not a wimp and he knows it. We just have to trust him to remain strong, even in this state. I trust him. Do you?"

I felt a large burden was lifted off me—like it evaporated off me, just from listening to Zero's words. And from Axl's chuckling and wide smile, it's safe for me to say he's feeling the same.

"You're right…if there's anything I learned from my younger days, it is to trust people to be strong, just like how I want people to trust me that I can be strong for myself." Axl remarked. "Thanks, Zero."

"Now go take that shower." Zero said. "Douglas and Gate aren't done yet, so…ah, I don't think you'll be dozing off again, but we have the rest of tonight off."

Time off, huh…I wonder if I can talk to Axl after this. But then again, I just upset him. I don't feel it's a good idea, even though the time is there. I want to stop being afraid, but I just…I might have ruined what I have just built. I feel like such a fuck-up…

But then again, I can't stop being afraid. But at the same time, Zero knows more about the situation than I do. If he knows that the time is right for me to talk to him, he'd tell me, and tell Axl. I don't want to make a brash decision that'll fuck things up even more than they already are.

I'm so disconnected. Granted, Zero's helping me connect and I'm doing a good enough job keeping myself updated on this operation regardless, but I don't know as much as Zero and Axl do. Even if I can watch with Alia and Zero can link to me so I can feel what he felt in the missions, it still wasn't my experience and I didn't actually do anything. But is returning to the battlefield really the right thing?

I guess I'm just going to talk to Zero. We haven't had a long conversation in ages. I missed those…


	25. Chapter 19: FADE

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 19: Fade**

Arriving in Anteator's Cyber Field felt nostalgic. I used to plug in here to spar with the trainee programmers or help them test their traps. Reploids who intend to be programmers are trained by Anteator. As a teacher, he lets the creativity of his students go wild, and often times the perspectives of the younger reploids enrich his knowledge, giving them a new appreciation for new generations day after day.

Some of them make traps in the Cyber Field to deter hackers. Some hackers who were able to plug in directly were met with untimely deaths because of the traps…or because of the trainees who plugged in and programmed their cyber-avatars with superpowers. For reploids who are not really disturbed with the concept of sparring virtually, they plug in to test the traps or spar with the trainee programmers. Granted, it does mean that the damage doesn't transfer over to the real body—just recorded, like: "If you suffer from this much damage in this body part, this is what would happen to you."

But right now, most of what had happened was missing and things are different now. Now, the Cyber Field is quiet and empty. Some of the blocked arenas, which were used for trap-testing and cyber-sparring, are empty. The only things I see are wandering samurais.

Those samurais was the first avatar model Anteator had made when he joined Red Alert. As he spent more time here, and as the trainee programmers contributed to Cyber Field, more and more avatar models were available. But now, all I see are those samurais.

"Damn, Anteator sure toned down the difficulty." I remarked.  
"What do you know about them, Axl?" Zero asked me.  
"They're the default avatars of Cyber Field. Very basic—you can only hit them at the back. It was the first avatar Anteator made, ever. He's gotten way better since then, so if he didn't say otherwise, I'd think he's handing himself over on a silver platter." I explained.

"If they're avatars, then someone's got to be plugged in here too, right? Besides both of us and him?" Zero asked me.  
"You're right, Zee, but avatars can be manifested all on their own by the admin. Anteator's the admin right now, that's why he can plop them in out of nowhere." I answered.  
"Exactly." Anteator's voice echoed through the space. "Have no fear. What Axl said is right. I'm prepared to meet my fate, be it victory or defeat. I just want to make sure you're worthy of fighting me to the death."  
"Alright, then. Let's go." Zero said before walking ahead.

"Make sure you let me copy them, Zero. If I get the avatar's data, you can bypass the barriers." I told Zero as I pointed at the orange barriers around Cyber Field. "Only those samurai can get past those barriers. Well, okay, there are other avatars, but those things are the only one we have."  
"Ooookay, how does it work? I'm not a copy-bot." Zero questioned, raising his eyebrows.  
"Basically, when I get the data, Alia will be able to get a hold of it and program you to have it as your avatar. She'll return you to how you are when she's done." I answered.

"Got it." Alia's voice echoed in Cyber Field. She's been given the freedom to program our avatars. However, Anteator's forbidden us using security limits to prevent Alia from programming us with extra superpowers—she can't access the codes for it, and even if she figured it out, she's marked as a guest and will be unable to use "cheats". Even if I'd like a fair fight, Signas might take the pragmatic route and make us over-powered enough to plow through Cyber Field.

We approached one of those lumbering suits of armour and I dashed away to its back while Zero acted as bait. The samurai seem to be intent on duelling Zero, even when I'm behind it, squeezing my triggers, the guns unloading bullets at it. For an automatically-generated avatar, it sure has a lot of zeal. Anteator probably programmed it to be much more aggressive. Makes sense, considering that they're the only ones in here…

"It's been…an honour, to fight Maverick Hunter Zero..." a static-y voice was heard from the samurai after I fired at it for some time.

…Daniel? Is that you?

"D-Daniel, what…?" I blurted out. He's still here? I couldn't count everybody who left Red Alert that day. But still…I thought all the programmers would leave! Hell, I left…

"Heheh, heh…'ello, Captain." Daniel said to me. "I'm on my last legs. Go ahead and fire that Copy Shot."

"Why, Daniel?" I questioned him, keeping my voice normal and my face straight. As much as my heart is aching right now, I can't look stupid in front of him.

"Me and some of the other programmers…well, we want to go down with Red Alert. That's all there is to it. And the best way to die is here. In the home we built for years. I love Cyber Field." Daniel explained. His voice is still clear enough for me to tell what he's saying, even though there's static in it.

"Alright, Daniel…rest in peace. Same with the others who decided to stay." I said before I fired the Copy Shot at Daniel's back and watched as his samurai avatar faded away into static, leaving only a DNA core.

"Axl…" Alia spoke up as I picked up the core. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, Alia. We're giving them what they want. Before we leave to the second area where we fight Anteator, we have to clear this area of the programmers anyways. If Cyber Field goes down, the people plugged in will simply wake up. They don't want to wake up." I responded, the tone of my voice low.

"To make things easier for all of us, we can have a time trial." Anteator proposed. "If you can activate the switch in the gate before the teleporter in 1 minute, all the programmers will instantly rest in peace, and the barriers will disappear. But if you can't, then you'll be trapped where you are while the samurais ambush you and the barriers will still be there even if you defeat them all."

Damn, Anteator must really be on his last legs. His body isn't exactly brand-new. We had plans to transfer his brain to a new body, but it went to hell when the Professor came in and directed all our finances into his projects and upgrades. And he made Anteator work like hell, so his body deteriorated even faster.

Fuck him. Fuck him to hell.

"I'll take it." I said as I transformed into a samurai, grunting when I felt the weight of the armour on my relatively small frame. I hardly ever use this avatar, I'm not used to it…but I know I can do it.

"Excellent." Anteator commented as the samurais turned their heads to face me.

I dropped the big sword and dashed away. Even the dash is shorter than my normal dash because of the heavy armour. I dashed in quick, small bursts while Zero helped clear the path from me from behind me.

"Axl. Next time, wait for my approval." Zero grumbled as he deflected a samurai's sword, sending it flying. "You're not the only one in this mission." he continued as he dashed behind the samurai, thrusting at its back hard, and the avatar faded into static.

"Sorry, Zee. I just…I just can't leave Anteator." I said to him in a soft voice, so that Anteator wouldn't hear…but what's the point? He's the admin. He can see all the data recorded in here, including my words.

"Zero was right. I may be old and fragile, but I am not weak." Anteator confirmed my thoughts and defended Zero.

"What happened to you, Lambda?" Anteator sent the data of his thoughts privately to me. He'd call me "Lambda" after the first part of my serial number when we're alone, as a pet name. "Your teamwork skills are top-notch. Have you been shutting yourself away?"

"No matter how mysterious I seem to be, you and Red can always read me like an open book." I remarked in my thoughts, replying to him. "Yes, I have. I may be able to talk to you and everyone else back here, but Hunters HQ is teeming with strangers."

"You're acting just like when you were mentally a child, shutting everyone away when you felt you couldn't trust anyone yet." Anteator replied. "It's no wonder other parts of you are reverting back to a more childish side."

I winced as I dashed. Anteator always knew how to hit my softest spots…

"I know you're scared and I know you're stressed from having to do all this, but you're not alone, you know?" Anteator continued. "For better or worse."

He's right. Zero, and to a lesser extent X, had actively tried to look after me, even when I kept insisting I didn't need to trouble them. That's the good side. On the bad side, I don't have as much control as I used to back when I was captain. Zero could've treated me like a sidekick, but he treated me like a subordinate. Yet, I…

"The one who's treating people like a sidekick is me, isn't it?" I remarked about myself to Anteator. "Thanks for the heads-up, Anteator. I needed that…"

"Always, Lambda. Know yourself, and know your enemy. Right now, you need to fully know your place." was the last thoughts Anteator sent me before I made it through the last barrier and flipped the switch inside it, activating the code.

In reaction, all the barriers and samurais faded away. Zero walked towards me as I reverted, looking at the teleporter a few distances away from us. His big yellow bush of hair is messy.

"Well, you did a good job," Zero commented. "But next time, please, PLEASE ask me before undertaking these challenges. I swear I almost got dogpiled back there."

"Sorry, Zero." I apologized. I could've explained myself, but I already had. And I don't think I deserve it. Besides, it might sound like I was trying to talk back to him, which would be the last thing I intend to do.

This is not just my operation. I may be an important puzzle piece, but I am not the leader. I was captain, and an important person in the organization I was in, but not anymore. In Hunters HQ, I am just a runaway traitor from an opposite faction, and Zero is, well…Maverick Hunter Zero—someone with enough authority to become the temporary commander of the Hunters, even back then when Sigma rebelled for the first time. And he continued to do even more heroic deeds after that.

Anteator was right…I really need to know my place. I tried to, I just…I was doing it wrong.

"It's fine, Axl, I know how it feels…" Zero sighed. "Just don't put me through that bullshit again. Alright? Anyways. We're fighting Anteator from here?"

Thanks for changing the topic, Zero. Thanks for being patient with me. Thanks for being here for me.

"Yes. Yes, we are. You didn't use Zankourin at all, didn't you?" I replied.

"Nope. I reserved it for the fight against Anteator. I spent all day practicing it when Doug was done with it. You have to make every blow count for this one…it's even worse when I just had my buster…" Zero trailed off into a rant. I smiled. I don't know if he's comfortable enough with me already to tell me about his little thoughts, but I'd like to think it is.

"I know you had a buster, but I never really imagined that. Oh well, let's get to it later. Let's go, Zero." I said, waiting for his response before I step into the teleporter. When he nodded and started walking, I walked in as he followed.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I was planning to smoosh the stage-cruising and the fight into one chapter, but I remembered one part I needed to put in before the fight. I think the battle against Anteator will be spread across two or three chapters. I think it'll be three, though._

 _In other news, PMGR has become way heavier. But then again, it might be just me thinking it's heavy. It's just me, not the fic._


	26. Bonus Chapter 5: IN

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Bonus Chapter 5: In**

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _This will be a chapter from Anteator's perspective. There's a good reason why I'm breaking the flow…also, it's been re-released for clarity.  
_

* * *

I sighed in relief when I felt Zero and Lambda arrive in the second room, and can't help chuckling to myself when Lambda was bewildered because he was expecting a fight. Instead of one of my battle arenas, the hunters were greeted by a space that looks like a traditional Japanese home, with only a sliding door in front of them that separated their avatars from mine.

Well, I don't blame him. Both of us know I don't have much time left. But he's too overprotective sometimes—he worries too much about others for their comfort.

"Greetings, Maverick Hunters, and congratulations for getting this far." I greeted them. "I'm aware that there will be death at the end of this. So before we exchange blows, I would like to speak privately with X, Zero, and Axl. Of course, as for X, it's perfectly fine for you not to plug in here and speak with me. The first one will be-"

No. No, no, no, no, no. Not this again. It's that same feeling again. I'm losing control…but I'm plugged in! If the virus is in my body, then I shouldn't feel this anymore!

"ZERO! SPEAK TO ZERO FIRST!"

God fucking dammit! Wily, you ill-mannered spoiled brat! He overrode control of my admin position. The virus—his consciousness is inside my electronic brain…not even plugging in can give me an escape from him. I wish I knew this earlier.  
But even so, I've done my best to reprogram myself to reverse-engineer the virus that is his digitized consciousness after I was taken over for the first time. The best thing I could do was earn the blessed privacy of my thoughts from it. Wily can still hijack my body as long as my body still exist, but he'll never be able to read my mind like an open book.

"Will you stop that?" I yelled at him, my voice resounding in Cyber Field for everyone to hear. "He never listened, no matter how many times you tell him! Do you really have to hijack me to say this, when you know he's coming for you?"

"I DON'T NEED YOUR PHILOSOPHICAL BABBLE, OLD MAN! All I need is for Zero to remember his true mission!" he yelled back at me using his true voice—not the voice he has in his "Sigma" body, not knowing that his tantrum is broadcasted in Cyber Field for everyone to hear.

"I think…I think I remember this voice, holy crap…" Zero muttered to himself as he stared into space trying to recall his creator's voice.

"The Professor…it's the Professor, isn't it?" Lambda growled. "Zero, if you do remember his voice, then who is this Professor, really?"

"Not Sigma, definitely. Sigma doesn't sound like a rickety old man way past his prime, so—" Zero tried to explain, but Wily cut him off with screaming.

"ZERO! HOW DARE YOU! I CREATED YOU! DON'T SPEAK ABOUT ME LIKE THAT! COME INSIDE RIGHT NOW!"

"If all you want is to speak with me, old man, just do it now! I don't know what you've done in there, or what you've done to Anteator. I'm not gonna go in there and fall into a trap! Hell if I'm letting anyone surprise-kill me! I can't trust you!" Zero hollered.

Look, Wily, if you want him to come in, you'll have to speak with him like he's a person, not a tool!

"STOP RESISTING! YOU'RE LUCKY I CAN'T BREAK DOWN THE DOOR OF YOUR ROOM, SO DO IT BEFORE I BREAK YOUR MIND!" Wily yelled again when I tried to wrestle control of my avatar.

"You forget I'm the admin here, and if there's someone he's going to have to listen to, it's me! Now let me speak with him like an actual civilized person, and get out of the way, at least until he comes in here and you get to tell him whatever you want to yell at him!" I argued.

"Fine!" Wily finally agreed. "Have your control, if it's going to get Zero to come in!"

Sighing in relief as I fully regained control, at least right now, I spoke again.

"Forgive me for the interruption, ladies and gentlemen. But you can trust me that Zero won't get hurt. I'll do my best to make this talk a simple talk." I tried to explain myself. I've managed to prove myself reliable in the beginning. They'll know.

"This is too risky. Are you sure the Professor won't take over again?" Signas spoke from the intercom.  
"Commander Signas, Anteator didn't wrestle himself out of the Professor's grasp with force. He actually talked down the Professor. He willingly stepped down. If that's not amazing, I don't know what is. I trust Anteator, Commander, and if something does go wrong, we'll do something about it." X defended me. It's surprising, but not too surprising.  
"Very well. But if Zero or Axl gets hurt, we'll have to take drastic action." Signas stated. "Zero, come in."

Zero sighed and walked forwards, and opened the sliding door as he stepped into the room, and was face-to-face with my avatar when he entered, shutting the door behind him.

"Welcome, Zero." I spoke, my voice not audible to the people outside the room. "Your creator would like to have a word with you, but please trust me that I am able to separate my words from his, for the good of all of us, and that I have words for you, too."

"Let's just get it over with."  
"LET'S JUST GET IT OVER WITH!"

Both Zero and Wily spoke up—Zero groaning and Wily yelling from my avatar. Zero's eyes bulged when he saw my eyes glowing white. Whenever Wily took over, I always feel this white flash in my sight for a split second.

Well, I guess they're still "father and son", so to speak, even if the relationship isn't there. The contrast and distance between the two, however, is still there.

"Alright." I sighed. "Wily, start speaking."

As soon as I said that, Wily took over.

"Zero…we meet again, my son." he spoke, in a softer tone this time.

"Son? Heh…I remember you. The old man from my dreams. Stop joking. You were never a father to me. Remember last time? You called me your masterpiece. That's all I ever am to you, aren't I? Spit it out, skip the pleasantries. What do you want?" Zero ranted at Wily, more annoyed than angry.

"I couldn't say it last time…I thought you understood. But it appears that Light-bot has killed your true self. Tch, it's just like Light himself, who kills people on the inside, one by one by one..." Wily growled.

"Light-bot? And what is this true self babble, old man?" Zero asked.

"X…I made you to destroy him. End Light's grip on the world once and for all…" Wily finally revealed his true intentions for Zero.

"Light…Wily…oh. You're Albert Wily, aren't you? That infamous scientist from the past who caused so much trouble! And all because of a petty fit between Thomas Light, who didn't even intend any harm to come to you! Get over it already, and get out of my life!" Zero yelled at Wily. "I'm Zero, and no matter who created me, and what for, I won't give a shit! I have my own life, and it's not yours to control or destroy!"

"Heh…victors always write history, even if they're lying bastards. You don't understand, Zero. You don't understand how it feels to have your dreams taken away from you, just as you had gotten so close to achieving them! You don't understand how it feels to be second best. I made you so that you can be the best, even surpassing X, and both of you know it! I went through this, worked day and night to give you the best specs, to give you this life of being a hero!" Wily ranted at Zero.

"Hero? Hero, old man? You don't understand me at all! I never recalled calling myself a hero. All I know is that, if there is someone who threatens me or the people I cherish, they're an enemy I have to vanquish! You're no different than one of the enemies I have killed in the past!" Zero ranted back.

"That does it! You're an unreliable rebel who decide to get close to Lightbots! You try to resist my influence and you won't ever listen to me!  
But I can control you…do you know the Maverick virus? It was ME! It was the program, my digitized consciousness, which I placed into you when you wouldn't listen to me, just like back then. You almost killed me, and I had to restrain you in this way. You never changed, Zero, and you need a father's discipline! Anteator was a fool to think he can talk me down—"

I interrupted Wily's ranting by completely uploading my mind into Cyber Field, severing the connection between my electronic brain and Cyber Field, and inputted this code I know will come in handy—a code that will activate a bomb to detonate my body if executed. I rigged myself in this way just in case Wily decides to pull something like this. I hope my hypothesis that Wily is only in my electronic brain, and not attached to my mind, is right…

I publicized the Cyber Field changelog for all the hunters to see, so just in case I'm wrong, they know to barge in and kill my avatar here and now before Wily uses it to take over Zero…

"Admin status: Completely uploaded. Connection method has been changed from PLUG to UPLOAD." the computer voice announced. After it was confirmed that I'm not connecting to Cyber Field through my body, I set it to announce the participant changelog. "Latest status on participants: maverickvirusmkii . exe has been ejected."

Everyone gasped in surprise.

"It…can't be. Anteator repelled the Maverick virus?" Alia spoke up, translating the changelog into layman's terms.  
"This is a gigantic relief to us. Anteator, what have you done? What has been happening?" Signas asked.  
"Yes, please, Anteator. Why did you completely upload yourself? What's wrong?" Lambda asked, failing to suppress the sadness in his voice.

"I simply destroyed my physical body and electronic brain. It was fortunate that my hypothesis that the virus resides in the electronic brain is right. As you have known, most of the time, the virus tries to delete the mind of the infected to take their body for its own.  
But this time, the virus simply co-existed with mine. When my electronic brain was connected via plugging, the virus had access to my admin privileges. But when I uploaded my mind and severed the connection, it was ejected." I explained.

"Anteator, no…" Lambda sadly blurted out, on the verge of tears.

I'm sorry, Lambda. I'm sorry this had to happen. I'm sorry you have to shoulder all this. Mature as you have been, none of us want you to go through this.

"We noticed that some of the Red Alert generals' minds didn't get separated from the virus. How is it that there is this difference?" Signas questioned.  
"I managed to reverse-engineer the virus using elaborate coding to force it away from my mind. It can still control my body, but it will never be able to delete my mind, read my thoughts or scan me." I answered. "I've stashed it in Cyber Field just in case I have to destroy my electronic brain. I'll be sending the code now." I continued as I sent it to Alia.

"We got it! Many thanks, Snipe Anteator. We are in your debt." she announced.  
"I…I didn't get to say this before, Anteator, but I'm willing to be plugged in to hear what you have to say." X said.

"Very well. Just a few moments; I need to finish my talk with Zero." I said, excusing myself to start my own conversation with Zero.

"Very well. You have proven yourself to be reliable and we respect your wishes." Signas declared.

I focused on Zero, looking at his bewildered expression, and that he had backed away against the corner of the room, looking like a cockroach. I couldn't resist giggling at him when he sighed in relief before returning to a calm, composed posture, clearing his throat.

"Glad that it's over." Zero started the conversation. "That was awesome, Anteator. If I may, can I ask you a question so I can get these thoughts out of my head?"

"Yes, you may. I believe that what had happened really impacted you." I answered, still smiling.

"Oh, yes, very…it's one reveal after another. I don't know why. It shouldn't matter, but at the same time, it's about me. Stuff about me I didn't know. I still need to digest it all…I'm created by Albert Wily to destroy X, and I'm the source of the Maverick virus…" Zero explained. "Does this mean I have to die? Does this mean that if I die, everything will be over?"

"No, unfortunately. Wily's influence is spread everywhere, and, yes, even if the core is in your electronic brain, your death won't end everything in just a single move." I answered. "You've fought well, Zero. The virus in your electronic brain is still there, but passive. It is still a contagion, but it's not as contagious as normal, but only when you lose control.

I am able to scan you through your connection with Cyber Field and my admin privilege, and I can see that it's your suppression of the virus that prevents you from being a contagion." I answered, and I smiled as I saw Zero sighing in relief.

"Thank goodness…I don't mind dying if it makes everyone better in the long run, but damn, it feels good to live." Zero remarked. "Alright, that's all for my concerns. Thank you so much for giving me the closure first. Now, what is it you'd like to tell me?"

"Nothing I didn't tell you when I was answering your first question…but I'll say it again. Just live your life. You've conquered the virus, and I know you are your own person, with your own life. Don't let your doubts conquer you, but don't lose control. You've done well, Zero, and I'm proud of you." I said.

"Hahah, you sound way more like a father than that old man. Thanks, Anteator. I guess this is it." Zero replied.

"Goodbye, Zero." I said as I waved at him. He left the room, waving at me. When he left the room, I announced the next person to speak to me.

"Up next is Axl."


	27. Chapter 20: AWAY

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 20: Away**

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** _Alright, so here's a new chapter, finally! My midterm's finished, and I did good. I also revised Bonus Chapter 5 for clarity. I hope you'll re-read it._

* * *

I quickly made my way into the room as soon as Anteator called me. When I shut the sliding door behind me to face him, he instantly opened his arms for a hug, and I threw myself at him before sobbing in his arms.

He always knew how to read me. Sometimes it's unnerving. But most of the time, it feels like heaven.

"Anteator, why does this have to happen?" I sobbed.  
"We deserved this, Lambda. We let the Professor in, and even broke our code of honour for him. And that's why I'm going down with Red Alert." he explained.  
"Does this mean I should die after this, too?" I responded. I never really understood the way Anteator and Stonekong think sometimes. It might be the generation gap, but still…

"Of course not. You still have a long life ahead of you. You're still young." he answered.  
"But we're all reploids, Anteator. You and everyone else also have a long life ahead of you." I argued. "What reason do you have to die?"

Anteator looked away for a second before answering again. "Remember what I said earlier? We've all been infected with a stronger strain of the Maverick virus. I was able to reverse-engineer it so that the virus can't scan my data, but it can still move my body."

"So…it's because of the virus? The Professor's piece-of-shit upgrades?" I growled low.  
Anteator sighed. "Yes."

I clenched both of my fists hard. So this is why everyone's going down. It's because of his "upgrades", thinly-veiled attempts to control Red Alert. What is he doing this for? To keep me and my powers all to himself? Had he been trying to infect me with that virus so he could control at least my body? No matter what his purpose is, it doesn't matter all that much to me. I want him to die a slow, horrible death. I want him to stew in the pain he's inflicted. I want him to suffer, I want him to bleed, I want him to cry until his eyes rust into nothing.

"Lambda." Anteator called out to me, interrupting my train of rage-filled thoughts. "It's okay."

"What the hell did you just say? No. Of course it's not okay." I sobbed, my tone of voice saturated with a mixture of anger and sadness. "Red Alert is being controlled by that virus. You even had to destroy your original body to set yourself free. And I've seen what happened to Hyenard and Boarski, and that would mean that the rest…"

"I shared the code with the other Red Alert members. I just…I couldn't save those two, because they were too far gone." Anteator answered.

I laughed as I cried, burying my face in his chest. "God damn it, Anteator, hahahahah…you should've told me earlier. Does that mean we can fix them? Capture them and…"

"No." Anteator interrupted me, his answer making my heart sink. "The virus was too strong, and it was all we could do. And as long as the virus can control our bodies, it would be best if we just die."

I laughed even more, even though all the mirth faded away. "So that's it? You're just going to throw your lives away? That's bullshit. You reverse-engineered the virus. Surely you can invent a vaccine for it?"

"You can argue all you want, Lambda, but this is what I have chosen for myself. The rest have chosen the same, either, and it's not your right to dictate what you want to do with our lives, just like how we have no right to dictate what we want to do with yours." Anteator sternly responded, causing me to tense.

"Why, Anteator? I…argh, you've told me why. You don't want to be a puppet, or maybe a lab rat. But still, I just…I can't wrap my mind around it." I sighed.

"It's fine, Lambda. Maybe you just can't understand now. Maybe you'll understand later. Either way, I just want you to respect my choice, and everyone else's, just like what we've done for you." Anteator said, his tone returning to his usual gentle tone.

"Then what about this whole duel? This war?" I questioned. It's possible that this whole duel thing is just a veiled attempt of suicide by Maverick Hunters, but I just…I can't believe it.

"We tried to kill ourselves. But the virus prevented us from doing so. We all tried rigging our rooms with bombs or shooting ourselves. But when the time came to press the button or pull the trigger, we couldn't move an inch of our fingers." Anteator sighed.

At that moment, all the strength faded away from my body. I went limp in Anteator's arms as my tears continue to flow down. "So that's it?" I whispered, "So you don't even have the right to your own lives anymore?"

"Not exactly, Lambda. We can still die in this way…but the Professor's made us our puppets, and the only way to freedom is through death." Anteator answered, still keeping his usual tone.

Sensing my trembling, Anteator pulled me closer, and I clung to him, almost clawing at his back. "Lambda, don't worry about us anymore. This is where Red Alert's story ends. However, you still have a long path ahead of you, and I need to make sure I've told you everything I want to tell you before I say goodbye." he said, sobbing a bit himself at the end.

"Of course, Anteator. I'll listen." I sobbed.

"Remember, Lambda. Know yourself, and know your enemies. That's the most important thing in life." he started. "Do the right things, but don't force what is right to you to other people. And remember to take care of yourself. You know we worry about you when you get hurt, like you worry about us when we get hurt." he continued.

I nodded to indicate that I had listened.

"Remember that you will lose people in life just like how you will be lost to other people in your life. But don't be hung up over these losses forever, even though every individual is irreplaceable. Don't lock your heart and shut it away. The world and the people living in it aren't as cruel as they look like. You learned it, didn't you?" Anteator continued to speak to me. I nodded again when he stopped for a while.

"Red Alert was your family, Lambda. But this doesn't mean you'll never get yourself a new family of your own. Listen to others' guidance, continue to learn. You're being thrust in a community foreign to you, and adapting will be hard," he said, "But don't give up. Remember everything I had said before. Even if you lose everything, in the end you still have yourself, and it's good enough."

I nodded again, and Anteator's response was, "That's it. Now off you go, unless you have things to tell me or ask me. Do you?"

"No." I answered, my voice a bit louder as I readied myself for the separation. I have to be strong. "Goodbye, Anteator."

"Farewell, Lambda." he said as he let me go. I got up and walked away from the room, glancing back at him one last time before I shut the door behind me.

When I walked back to the hall, I saw Zero and X there, standing.

"Up next is X." Anteator announced. X bowed and walked towards the door before entering the room.

"What did he tell you, Axl?" Zero asked me.  
"Well, what did he tell you?" I asked back. If I'm going to tell him about that highly personal conversation, I better get something in return. Sure, it's OK to open up, but opening up about this to him? No, at least not now.

"Ah—um. Highly personal stuff." Zero stuttered. "Important stuff, but I…I can't tell anyone."  
"Alright…" I sighed. "That's fine. Anteator told me some important, yet personal stuff too; although there are things I can, and have to tell everyone else. I was thinking he might've told you something similar."  
"And what are those things?" Zero asked back.  
"Anteator reverse-engineered the virus, right? He shared those codes with the other Red Alert members as well. Hyenard and Boarski were the only ones he couldn't save." I explained.

Zero sighed in relief, and I smiled at his reaction. It's as if he's empathizing with me—well, he most likely is.

"Did he tell you more about reverse-engineering the virus?" Zero asked more.

I bit my lip and looked away as I remembered what Anteator had said about the virus and what he had failed to fix—the virus could still control bodies, even though it can no longer touch minds. The members couldn't kill themselves even if they wanted to. They were robbed of their ownership rights of their own bodies.

"I…well—" I stuttered out, opening my mouth…  
"It's okay, Axl, if you don't want to say it, it's fine." only to be interrupted by Zero.  
"No, Zero. I have to tell you, even if it's redundant, or painful. Anteator could only prevent the virus from scanning the reploid's data and controlling their minds. He couldn't prevent it from controlling the body, which meant that the Red Alert members couldn't…commit suicide, to set themselves free." I explained, suppressing the tight feeling in my chest and the mental image that came to mind.  
"That's…that's just messed up." Zero remarked.  
"I know, right?" I sighed.  
"At least he was a hero," Zero commented, "That patch can change things, even though we still have to retire infected reploids. At least they can still die as themselves."

I smiled at Zero's remark. Red Alert may be an illegal bounty hunter group, but in the end there's something besides blood, death and tears that compose their legacy. Something good. It gives me the feeling and the thought that there's hope for me to carve a good mark on the world for myself, even after what I've done and what I've accomplished.

You can turn your life around. Your sins can be forgiven. You can be reborn a new person. Maybe Red Alert can be reborn, or at least a concept of them. I want to live long enough to see that day.


	28. Bonus Chapter 6: CONNECT

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Bonus Chapter 6: Connect**

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _Another bonus chapter in X's perspective. Anyways, just a bit of prattling here. It seems I've been portraying other characters' perspectives more often these days. Most of the time it's situational (Like when Axl fell asleep in Bonus Chapter 4), but I think I should focus more on Axl after this._

* * *

I didn't get to listen in to Zero and Axl's conversation about what Anteator had told Axl, because I got called before they started talking. It's not my concern anyways—what I want to hear is what Anteator would like to tell me. It feels warm and fuzzy inside that I finally get to have a real talk with an opponent, and not just brief pre-battle banter. I'll listen for sure.

I entered the room and sat in front of Anteator. I bowed my head as a sign of respect, and he bowed back.

"Greetings, X." he greeted me.  
"Good day to you too, Snipe Anteator." I greeted back. "I really appreciate this opportunity you gave me."  
"You're welcome." he replied. "I suppose you have a few things weighing in your mind, correct?"

Wait, what?  
I flinched. We've never talked before, and yet he already knows my predicament…

"How…how did you…?" I stammered out.  
"It's plain simple. If I were you, I'd be in the same state." he started explaining. "I know why you retired—you wanted to set an example for others. But the message never got through."

I looked away. "It's public knowledge already…?" I muttered. Apparently, everyone knows my status as a piece of shit.  
"Well, your retirement speech was public knowledge." Anteator replied, even though it wasn't what I was referring to… "You said you wanted to end the cycle of violence. You had made your intentions public, and whatever had happened afterwards was public, too."

I sighed, hung my head and clenched my fists. I feel angry. So angry. I already know that whatever I had tried to do only backfired in my face, and impacted so many people. It culminated into this. It's not just Axl who lost important things. The innocent people who were impacted by all this violence also lost what matters to them, and it was I who flicked this domino piece the wrong way. I made the wrong decision, and everybody knows it. I hate myself so much for it.

I breathed. As much as I wanted to lash out at Anteator to make me feel better, because he was the one who made these painful feelings resurface, it's not right. And I wouldn't really feel good afterwards, anyways. He wanted to help me with my issues, he had to show me he knows…

"I'm sorry, X." Anteator sighed.  
"No, it's okay." I replied as I turned back to face him. "You wanted to help me…right?"  
"I do. So what is it you'd like to tell me? Your thoughts other than what I was able to figure out from what I had known?" Anteator asked.

I breathed deeply, and looked him in the eye. I can't blubber down crying in front of him, even if he does want to help. It's inappropriate—he's just an acquaintance.

"I just…looking at Zero, Axl, Alia and Commander Signas in this operation, I feel so disconnected. Even Douglas is even more connected than me in all this. I feel like that, well, all that I had been doing amounted to literally nothing. Researching past cases and analysing them like university students…in the end, I feel like that what I had done post-retirement…well, it's all for nothing." I explained.  
"And I don't know what to do. Alia and Zero, both of them have faith in me even though my faith in myself has gotten very, very shaky. They told me to do what I think is best, but I don't understand what's best anymore."

"I see…" Anteator responded as he leaned back slightly to think.

I leaned back as well to let my body relax. Somehow, talking about it to someone else who I haven't talked about this to feels liberating. Maybe it's because I'm getting another perspective? Most likely. It was kind of frustrating hearing Zero and Alia tell me the same thing over and over: "Just do what you think is best, X."

I know they have nothing but good intentions for me, but I can't help but have this nagging feeling that they've either given up on me, or they're too busy to care. Granted, my thoughts and my struggles tend to be different from theirs—they don't really think about the big picture of this conflict. I don't hate them for it, since it's their choice to pay attention to one issue instead of another. Maybe all I need is someone with the same perspective as me, for once.

But is my perspective even right? As individuals, we learn, evolve and develop. The person you are will be different from the person you will be. You are not the "you" who were. Do I need to evolve? Is my perspective crap? There's a line between being reasonably different and being too different for comfort. But where do I draw that line?

Life is so hard, isn't it? My head is spinning and it's hard to think straight.

"Have you ever thought of what is best for you to do?" Anteator asked me. "You have most likely thought of what is best for you to accomplish, but doing is not accomplishing."

"I have. Many times." I answered with a huff as I remembered my crazier attempts to make a decision when I was driven batty by the "fight-or-stay" decision—one of them involving pulling petals out of flowers. "And I kept walking in circles. I've weighed the pros and cons and the possibilities of each choice, just as many times."

"In life, you can't always know all the consequences before you make a decision." Anteator replied, causing me to wince. Right in the sweet spot…

"True, true…" I sighed. "I didn't want this bloodshed. Does this mean I have to fight?"

"How much do you think that you're better off returning to the Hunters? What makes you think it's a good decision?" Anteator asked.

"I don't know." I muttered. "If I fight, will the violence continue?"

"The problem is that there is a disconnection between your deeds and how the individuals choose to interpret it." Anteator responded. "See, you retired to make an example for others—that fighting isn't the way. But there are people who didn't get the message you intended to convey. Those people took the opportunity to commit more crimes in the absence of an important hunter. And you couldn't control what they think, whether they're humans or reploids. Correct?"

I tensed. "You're right…that would be dictation." I commented.

"You think about how your behaviour would impact others. That's good and considerate of you, but right now you've fallen into the trap of overly accounting of others' responses. This is bad because you can't always predict them. Not even I can do that." Anteator continued. "There is a bit of a contradiction in this life. You're significant enough to influence people, but at the same time people won't listen to everything you say—they'll only listen to what they want to hear. But at the same time it is in line with a rule of life, in which you can't stop everyone from doing what they want."

"Just like how the Hunters couldn't stop me from retiring, but I couldn't stop other people from committing violence, unless...well…you know. Is it?" I tried to clarify, hoping we're on the same page.

"Yes." Anteator answered.

I chuckled bitterly. "In the end, life is just a jungle of people ploughing through everything to get what they want, even other people, right?"

"Unfortunately." Anteator replied. "Even if the world enters an era of peace, people who profit from violence will suffer. There really is no way around suffering. Such is the order of this world."

"Then if there is no way around suffering, why do we maverick hunters fight? What are we fighting for?" I questioned, holding back my tears.

"You seem to have misunderstood me, X." Anteator remarked, his gaze turning sharp. "The world will never be free from suffering, but it is simply because of balance. If there is no sadness, there is no happiness. If there is no hunger, the feeling of fullness will mean nothing. If there is no anarchy, then peace will mean nothing."

"Then this is…is this just a phase?" I questioned, feeling more at peace now that he's explained it.

"Just like how hunger and pain are temporary, yes, it is a phase. But like with every phase, it has to end somehow. Some temporary things will fade away given time. Others, you have to change it yourself." Anteator answered.

"All the fighting between reploids had never really changed for at least half a century. It was all because of Sigma's rebellion…" I sighed.

"Not quite. Before you were created, robotic violence wasn't all that new. It was Dr. Albert Wily who started it. And even large-scale violence isn't a new concept. Humans wage war against each other from time to time." Anteator explained.

I tensed as I felt some sort of connection. I remember what Alia had said to me the last time we talked, about how humans wage war against each other, even without reploids. And then what Anteator told me that the world can never be free from suffering. Everything is connecting together.

But what will these connections amount to? Will it amount to nothing? Is this talk going to be for nothing, just like whatever I had done?

"So…Anteator. What do I do now? Thanks to you, I've understood a bit more about the situation I'm trying to tap into. But…what now?" I asked.

"Another thing I have to point out to you is that you're trying to take on the burdens of this world alone. As great as men are, X, no one man can carry the burdens of the whole world single-handedly. You want to change the world, don't you?" Anteator replied, the last sentence making me wince as I remember what others always told me—I have potential, I have power, I can change the world. Yet all those words, all those expectations are breaking my back, combined with over 50 years of failure, 50 years of watching the world screw itself over.

"I do. I want a more peaceful world." I answered.

"You're taking on all these burdens and struggles alone, X. You're biting much more than you can chew. As we discussed earlier, you can do or say things, but people can also do and interpret things however they like, and most of the time, you can't stop them. The world is too big for one man to change alone." Anteator replied again, and I felt more and more connections into my head as the pieces are put together. "Sometimes you have to understand that you can only do so much. World-changing is a group effort."

I chuckled as I felt more connections in my head—not even this operation is a single-person effort. Axl had tried taking on the burdens of this incident on his own, but it was impossible. Zero fights with him. Alia watches over them. Commander Signas makes the decisions. And I've contributed…absolutely jack shit.

I don't like the role I had gotten stuck in. But whether I like it or not, other people are depending on me to do it well. Shooting, retiring mavericks whether they're infected or not. Killing people. That was the role I had gotten cemented in, the role I want to prevent Axl from being stuck in, as well. Do I like it? No, not at all. But do I like watching innocent people die? No, hell no.

Just like normal buying and selling, there's always a price we have to pay. And this time, I think I have to make this personal sacrifice for the sake of the world I had sworn to protect. One person, for the whole world. Sounds like a good enough trade for me.

Someone's going to change this world through words. Maybe not now, maybe not in the near future. But it's the role of Maverick Hunters to fight for the people who can't. It's my role, and even though I'd much rather use diplomacy, right now this is the role I must fulfil. I'd like to switch someday, but…I keep talking about what I want to do to accomplish what I want. I never really think about what I truly need to do to achieve that goal.

In the end, I'm just as selfish as everyone else, aren't I? But it doesn't matter anymore.

"It seems like you've found your answer." Anteator said with a small smile.  
"Yes, yes, I have." I responded. "And it's thanks to you."  
"You're welcome, X." Anteator chuckled. "Anything else you'd like to talk about to me?"  
"No, that's it, thank you very much." I replied. "And…see you in the battle arena."


	29. Chapter 21: RETURN

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 21: Return**

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _Whoa, it's been a month plus. Sorry for the unusually long delay! I faced exams, and then job-searching-related stress. It took me time to gather the courage to write PMGR again. I can't believe I think of it as something heavy. Why is it that whenever you gaze at the mountain from afar, it looks like such a cumbersome challenge, but when you actually climb it, all your fears just disappear?_

* * *

When X walked out of the door, his green eyes showed clear sharpness I've never seen ever since I walked into HQ. His face looks fresh, even when he has eye bags. Zero tensed as well when he saw X like that.

"Alia. I'm returning to the front lines. Please program the codes for the X-buster for me." were the first words he said.

Is he really, seriously returning to the battlefield?

"X…what?" Alia blurted out, echoing my sentiments.  
"You're returning…to the front lines?" Signas followed.  
"I can't sit back any longer. I've decided. I'm sorry for being a burden and a bother for so long. Now, I'll finish what I started." X declared.

Huh…this is great. I don't know why I'm not as psyched up as I should have been. What's wrong with me? X is returning to the battlefield, he's going to become a real maverick hunter again. And X is a hero. One of the two heroes I looked up to. But I guess that's the problem. I don't look up to him, I looked up to him.

But still, he's not all that bad. Sure, it might have been a dick move for him to point his buster at me, threatening to kill me at the heat of the moment. But he was just…really, really stressed. But…argh. Whatever. It's confusing. This isn't the time to think about it. Like it or not, he'll be fighting with us from now on.

A faint light appeared over X's arms after Alia finished programming his buster into his digital avatar. I watched Zero smirk as he watched the light fade in, and then out. As soon as the light faded, Zero dashed towards X and headlocked him.

"Whoa, Zero!" X yelped. "What the hell?"  
"It's good to have you back, X, ol' buddy!" Zero replied as he laughed. "I missed fighting with you!"  
"Yeah, alright, alright." X said, laughing with Zero. "I missed being on the battlefield with you, too, Zee. It's been so long…"

Ah, I guess I know why I wasn't really psyched up. With X back by Zero's side, I'll most likely be ignored as they rebuild their relationship. But I can't exactly blame them. They mean more to each other than I do. I chuckled and smiled as I savour the feelings—I'm happy for them. At least their friendship won't be strained anymore—if it was even strained in the first place.

"Hey, you two. I know X's return is worth celebrating and all, but let's save the chit-chat for later after the mission?" Alia reprimanded them with a light tone, like a mother seeing her two children play with the soap in the bathroom.

"Yeah, sure. It'll be over quickly anyways. Right, X?" Zero replied.  
"Yep. It's still here." X said as he looked at his arm.  
"What's still there?" I asked.  
"Ohhhh, you'll see later, Axl." Zero sniggered.

The sound of Anteator clearing his throat brought all talking to a halt.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, shall we begin the fight?" he asked. "If you're ready, hunters, please enter through the same door."

X raised his eyebrows and Zero let out a "Huh?"  
"This is Anteator's Cyber Field, so he can program it anytime he wants. So behind that door won't be the same room we talked to him in." I explained.  
"Oh, damn. I should've realized it first-hand." Zero chuckled as he face-palmed.  
"Right. Let's go? I don't think there's anything else to wait around for." X replied.

I nodded. Zero gave X a thumbs up, and then the three of us entered through the door.

Behind the door was one of the many "fields" I used to spar with Anteator in—a tube-like "ground" that we walk on. Whenever Anteator uses this field, he always has a device attached to him that allows him to move and stick to the lower "half" of the tube. It also helps accelerate his movements and keep him balanced, since his body is old.

Looking at him now and the tubes attached to the lower half of his face, I could only frown. He had been using it ever since the Professor took over Red Alert. Before that, he only used it when his body's close to decaying and he's in need of a new one. But after the Professor worked him to oblivion, he wouldn't take it off.

"What is this field?" Zero remarked as he looked around. "Are we going to fall if we go over the edge or something? Wait…there's no edge in this tube, but you get what I mean, don't you?"  
"Not quite. I've arranged for a barrier to prevent you from walking off to that point." Anteator replied.  
"He can move around the lower half, though. That's what the device on his back is for—the one behind the cannon." I explained.  
"Got it." X responded, nodding. "So, let's start?"

Anteator nodded back and clapped his claws. A burst of propeller-shaped energy shot headed forwards, to our direction, and we dodged—X and Zero dodged sideways, while I jumped up and hovered.

"Axl." Zero said to me, "I have a strategy in mind, wanna hear it?"  
"Do tell, Zero." I replied.  
As Anteator moved away to the other side of the tube, I can't help but notice him smile slightly—as he fired homing missiles at us.  
"One of us will have to cover X…" Zero started explaining as he glanced at X's glowing arm, and at me—I was firing at the missiles as I listened to him. "But I'm not sure if it should be you or me."  
"Should be both of us, Zero. I'll hit these missiles, and Anteator can drop ant-shaped mines. You're big and strong, so you should be able to throw them away, out of explosion range." I explained.  
"Anything else he's got?" Zero asked.  
"He has that spiral attack, which we can do nothing about but dodge. And then he also has sentry guns. We should be able to handle those guns together. We have to." I continued.  
"How many are there?" Zero asked again. "The sentry guns."  
"Six." was my reply.

Afterwards, Anteator quickly zipped along the top half of the column as he spread his ant-shaped mines everywhere. I ran towards X and Zero quickly ran around to grab as many as he could and threw them as far away from us as possible. I could only carry one or two in my hands, and even then, it was with great effort—but Zero was able to treat them like volleyballs.

Seeing that it was pointless for him to use the mines, Anteator summoned his sentry guns, and it fired at all of us—two each.  
"Zero, be careful of his tongue." I warned Zero as he drew his saber.  
"That sounds like a hentai line…" Zero muttered.  
"Zero! Don't talk like that in f—" X scolded Zero, but Zero cut him off.  
"Who was the one who came up with the Brazzers joke yesterday, hmm?" Zero countered before he dashed away towards Anteator.  
I giggled as I transformed my guns into the Double Bullet so I could fire at two sentry guns at once instead of one.

The moment Zero got close to Anteator, Anteator lashed out his tongue at him, but Zero blocked it with his arm. Anteator's tongue would've hit Zero's face if Zero hadn't blocked, but Anteator wrapped his tongue around Zero's armoured forearm instead.  
"Damn, how do you eat?" Zero remarked as he struggled to get Anteator's tongue off his arm, causing both me and X to snort a little.  
"Don't question the master." Anteator chuckled, and Zero flinched before he struggled more. He tried to run away from Anteator, but it turned out that Anteator's tongue was very, very long, and it stretched as Zero moved.  
"Damn, how do you speak like this?" Zero commented, his voice raised. Anteator's tongue wrapping around his forearm would've made his speech sound funny, he thought.  
"Don't question the master." Anteator joked again.

"He has a voice box in his throat that makes sure his speech sounds normal no matter what you do to his tongue!" I hollered at Zero, ruining the joke. I giggled when I saw Anteator roll his eyes when I explained his secret.  
"Then you shouldn't have any problems with this!" Zero smugly declared as he cut Anteator's tongue with his Z-Saber…only for his jaw to drop when it grew back. After that, it was Zero's turn to roll his eyes.

Zero dashed away as he dodged another tongue-lashing, and executed a side-slash, targeting Anteator's device. The connector was cut slightly, and electricity fizzed from it. Meanwhile, I had successfully destroyed two sentry guns. Given that Zero wants to stop Anteator from reaching the lower half of the tube, that none of us can reach, I accepted the fact that I'll be the one targeting all of the sentry guns. Zero glanced at me as I aimed my Double Bullet at two of the remaining four sentry guns, and he flashed me a thumbs up. I returned it with a big grin, because my hands are full.

Sensing Zero's change in strategy, Anteator quickly zipped to the lower half of the tube so that Zero can't continue hacking off the device.  
"Fuck!" Zero cursed at Anteator's reaction.  
"Zero!" X yelled at Zero in reaction.  
"Zero!" Alia yelled at us through the comm.  
"Zero." Signas lowly remarked as well.  
Zero groaned like a grizzly bear. "Fudge." he grumbled.

Anteator then quickly zipped through the tube, tossing ant mines our way. In reaction, however, Zero gritted his teeth, and…

Wait. Zero! No, stop!

"Zero! What are you doing?" I yelled at Zero, who was clinging to Anteator's device as he carved it with his Z-Saber. I stared in horror as Anteator stayed in the lower half of the tube, and as Zero carved at the connector anyways. Anteator kept lashing his tongue, firing his cannon and focusing his sentry guns on Zero, and Zero kept on carving at the device's connector.

"Zero! What the hell are you do—aargh!" it was X's turn to yell at him, but X cried out instead when Zero was able to successfully disconnect the device.

"Sorry, X." I muttered as I dashed and used my boot-jets and flew away to catch the falling Zero, and I successfully grabbed his forearm. Anteator was still clinging to the tube with his claws, but he had cast away the shoulder cannon, which had gotten too heavy for him once the device was cast off.

"Damn, Zero." I remarked, grunting as I struggled to hold on to Zero's arm. "How much do you eat?"  
"I'm built this way, Axl." Zero said as he heaved a relieved sigh.

I quickly flew back to the top half of the tube, and placed Zero on the ground before dropping down myself, panting. He's so heavy, and his armour's heavy, too…

"I'm sorry, Axl." Zero apologised.  
"It's fine, Zero." I chuckled. "You're sharp, I have to give you that. Besides…" I trailed off to move my head to look at Anteator, who struggled to climb back to the top half.  
"I thought there was a barrier?" X questioned.  
"Anteator said it's to prevent us from walking to the lower half, not flying." I replied, chuckling again at the end.

There are still four sentry guns…Zero and I should be able to take care of two each.  
"Axl! Don't move!" Zero hollered out as he saw me get up.  
"I'm fine, Zero." I replied, telling the truth. I wasn't injured. I only lifted a heavy-ass maverick hunter, that's all. If anyone's injured, it's him.  
"You're the battered one, not me." I said to Zero. His armour had been dented and scratched—Anteator had focused all his firepower and tongue-power on him for that short, yet meaningful while.  
"It's all charged anyways." X whispered to the both of us, not wanting Anteator to hear. He glanced at Anteator, who had just made it to the top half of the tube, then at his arm, which was glowing white.

"Guys, stand back." X said as he aimed his buster at Anteator. We listened to him and stood away. Anteator stared at X's buster, and stopped moving. He wouldn't be able to avoid a charge shot with his significantly slowed movement, and smiled blissfully as he waved at us.

The three of us smiled at him, and Zero and I waved at him as X fired the charge shot. It was incredibly huge, easily about Signas's size. After it hit Anteator, there's literally nothing left of him.


	30. Chapter 22: SUNSET

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 22: Sunset**

Feeling my warm tears on my cheek the first thing I woke up, I wiped them as I sat up on the connection pod. X was helping Zero up, while Alia and Signas stared at the monitor.

"It's done…Cyber Field is gone." Alia declared. "And I just got a message from Anteator. Apparently, he programmed it to be sent upon the disappearance of Cyber Field. His DNA data and weapon data is there. I'll forward it to Douglas and Gate."  
"Mission complete. Good job, everyone." Signas congratulated all of us.  
"Four down, four to go…" I whispered to myself as more of my tears fell, even as I held them back. I just kept wiping them.

I heard Alia get off her chair after a few minutes of typing, and then I felt her hand on my shoulder.  
"It's okay, Axl. It's okay." she whispered.  
"I know, I know it's okay, I just…" I replied. "Things are looking up. We're progressing forwards and the rest of the Red Alert members will die as themselves. I just have…mixed feelings, I suppose." I explained.  
"It's okay to cry, Axl." Alia assured.  
"Not in the workplace." I argued. It really is unprofessional of me to cry outside of my private quarters like this…but I tried holding it back.  
"This isn't the average workplace, Axl. Trust me, I've had a lot of hunters break down in front of me right after they teleport back." Alia replied.  
"Most likely rookies." I replied—it's true, right? I don't think X and Zero will ever break down publicly at this point, given their experience.  
"It doesn't matter, Axl. All of us, even X and Zero, start from rookies. Even now, X breaks down occasionally. Don't tell him, okay?" Alia said, giggling lightly at the end.

Well, even if she won't change the fact that I'm unwilling to cry in the workplace, even if that workplace is Maverick Hunters HQ, Alia's still comforting me. She's assuring me that no one will look down on me for crying.

"Thanks, Alia." I replied. "It means a lot to me." I added, telling the truth. Now that I know, the only one judging me for crying in HQ would be myself…I suppose. Bullies exist, and I can't deny that. But still, nice to know that the sane people in HQ tolerate crying.  
"You're welcome, Axl. Go get some rest. You need it." Alia said before she stepped away to organize the mission report.

Now, the only people in this room are me and Signas.  
"Commander Signas, if you'll excuse me…" I said to him, and he turned towards me.  
"Go ahead, Axl, but do you mind if I talk to you for a little bit?" he asked.  
I tensed before replying. "Yes, what is it? Did I get into trouble?"  
Signas smiled slightly before he shook his head. "No, quite the opposite. But anyways…" he answered as he pushed a chair towards me before sitting on Alia's chair. "Have a seat." he said.

I nodded and sat in front of him.

"So, Commander…what is it you'd like to talk to me about?" I started the conversation.  
"Just a few things I'll have to help take care of by the time this operation is over." Signas replied. "What are your plans after this?"  
I tensed as I felt the thoughts rushing through my brain. This is the perfect opportunity to tell him that I intend to join the Hunters. But still, should I? Will it get me into trouble if I tell? But then again, this is my only plan. I can't lie. I shouldn't.  
"I…if I can, I would like to join the Hunters." I said. I wanted to add my purpose—that I want to utilize my fighting skills, for a better purpose this time. But it just sounds touchy. I'd expose myself as an assassin, and a criminal. Well, not that they don't know already, but still.  
"That's what I was thinking for you, too." Signas replied. "X had been telling me to consider the possibility of you not wanting to join. He told me to tell you of this, shall this topic ever come. Have you ever thought about it?"  
I chuckled. Typical mother hen X. Or is it that he doesn't want me here? As curiosity-inducing as it is, I can't ask that kind of question. It's just asking for drama.  
"Sometimes, I suppose. But it was a long time ago." I said. "I've decided that I want to fight to protect society, so the Hunters is the only place that I get to do so."

"Well, I suppose we have an agreement. I'll issue a letter to the government higher-ups to consider you when this is all over. And if I recall correctly, you survived being injected with the Sigma Virus MK. II, right?" Signas declared, as I grinned huge.  
"Yes, I did." I affirmed, nodding.  
"Since we don't know the exact procedures of the injections, even if we read your memories, we'll have to test your immunity ourselves." Signas said. "Do you have the time?" he asked.  
"I do. So when will I be tested?" I asked.  
"Now is a good time, since you're ready." Signas stated.  
"I'm ready." I declared as I got off the chair, and Signas followed.

I walked behind him as he led me to the R&D room. As soon as he arrived in front of it, he pressed the doorbell.

"Yes, Commander Signas?" Douglas's voice was heard through the intercom. "Is something the matter?"  
"Do you have time for a virus test?" Signas asked.  
"Oh, yes! We do." Douglas answered as he opened the door from the inside.

"Hey, Axl, good to see you again." Douglas greeted me when he saw me and Signas. I waved back at him, and then I looked at the purple-armoured scientist standing beside him. That must be…  
"Hello, Axl. I don't believe we've met. My name's Gate, and I'm in charge of the virus tests." the purple-armoured scientist introduced himself.  
"If he really is one hundred percent immune, then he'll be very valuable to us." Signas noted.  
"He can use DNA data to transform himself and his guns, right?" Gate clarified. "About time we have a versatile hunter with us."

I smiled slightly and looked away.

"No, really, Axl. Right now, we only have one person we send out to virus-thick areas for various purposes." Gate said.  
"One person? But aren't X and Zero immune?" I questioned.  
"X still gets hurt when the virus is too thick, remember?" Douglas noted. "And Zero…well, we don't talk about that, but he's not immune, basically."  
"Anyways, right now we're going to make sure if you're immune. Not hurt or empowered. Like, you don't feel anything at all." Gate said as he prepared the equipment for the tests as Signas and I watched.

Looking at the familiar mechaniloid-like thing that Gate had just taken out, my eyes widened.  
"The Nightmare virus?" I blurted out.  
"Haha, you knew?" Gate chuckled bitterly. "Well, I've made vaccine programs for the initial strain already, but this is just a slightly more advanced strain we use for virus tests. This won't hurt reploids vulnerable to the virus…too much. They'll just feel pain, and then that's it." he explained.  
"I see…" I replied, nodding.

"Alright, here goes." Gate said as he activated the Nightmare virus transmitter, and it moved towards me and attached itself to me.

Douglas, Gate and Signas watched the log on Gate's monitor while the transmitter remained attached to me. I stared at the log as well, and it had showed that the virus transfer had been completed.

We remained like statues afterwards.  
One minute.  
Two minutes.  
Three minutes.  
Four.  
Five...

"Feel anything?" Gate asked, breaking the silence.  
"No." I answered.

"Gate, who's the record-holder?" Douglas asked.  
"There is no record-holder. Even X gets hurt immediately." Gate answered. "The test is a success. We have another completely immune hunter in our hands." he declared.  
"Yes!" I said, pumping my fist.  
"Excellent. This will increase the chance of him being accepted into the Hunters." Signas noted.  
"Is every application reviewed by the government?" I asked. Surely, they don't have time to review every single one, and the Hunters should have their own administration department. The government can be awfully slow sometimes.  
"No. Yours is just a special case." Signas answered. "But either way, they shouldn't be able to refuse you."

"What are those missions that virus-immune hunters go on, anyways?" I asked.  
"Well, after Eurasia's debris crashed, big parts of the Earth were contaminated with both pollution and a stronger strain of the Maverick virus. But they might contain valuable pre-Eurasia tech, and that's where you come in.  
And since the virus jams our transmission, we can't teleport you to the best spot. You have to walk all the way there, without supervision. And you also have to be very hardy to survive without anyone to help teleport you back if you ever get injured. These missions, mostly because of the walking, can take about a week.  
So because, that way, you've gotten used to navigation-less missions, we can send you to other transmission-less areas as well. Also, missions to virus-thick areas have the added benefit of clearing the mavericks, which are infected with, and transmit the virus, from the area, thus rendering it clean and habitable, for at least reploids. Those reploids will then terraform the area to make it habitable to all life forms." Signas explained.  
"You get to do this kind of job, Axl. So it's gonna be awesome." Douglas remarked, giving me a thumbs-up.

I laughed. This sounds great. I'll be able to do a lot of good this way. It's great to know that the Hunters accomplish more than just retiring mavericks. Those missions are something only people like me can do. If humans ever try to do the job, I doubt they'd be able to tolerate the pollution and survive the mavericks.

"If we can complete the current operation, we'll know you're good enough for the job." Gate remarked.  
"I'll make sure we get there." I declared, giving him a thumbs-up.


	31. Chapter 23: SUNRISE

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 23: Sunrise**

The moment I entered my room, the first thing I did was remove my armour before plopping down on my bed. I closed my eyes, and thought to myself, "It's just a little while" before falling asleep.

The next thing I knew, it was already morning. Well, not 7:30 AM. Way earlier…it's 4 AM. I should try and sleep in…  
Rolling, tossing and turning for a while didn't help. I tried to close my eyes. I tried to relax my body. I still feel jittery.  
But what do I do for three and a half hours? Precious time. But what do I spend it on? There's nothing in this room. I did nab my mobile phone before leaving Red Alert HQ, but I don't feel like browsing the internet. Plus, connecting to the internet might have…consequences, at this point.

Oh, right. I still haven't taken a shower from last night.

I left the room and went to the showers. I turned the water on, and oh my god, that is cold. No. Cold showers are not for mornings. Well, okay, not every morning. Sometimes it wakes me up. Other times, it's just nasty. No.  
Switching the shower from cold to warm, it felt good feeling the warm water on my skin.

I blinked as I wiped the water off my face. It's surprising how much I didn't think about Anteator. Maybe because of what happened before the fight? He did tell me that everyone else was sane, and he had willingly fought to die. Maybe that's why it's not so sad. Unlike with Boarski and Hyenard, I got to say a proper goodbye, and Anteator…he fucking reverse-engineered the Sigma Virus MK. II. If that's not awesome, I don't know what is.

Laughing as I scrubbed my hair, I realised that everything from this point on won't be as tough as the previous fights. Well, most likely. We'll be fighting sane people from this point on. Red will be sane, too. That's a big plus point. I can get the truth out of him. The Professor was very suspicious. How the hell did Red decide to let him in?

Anyways, it's for later. Right now, I need to prepare to fight Crowrang.  
Wait, that's it! That's what the excess time this morning is for. Crowrang is a fast fighter, who can fly better than me, even with his flight capabilities dumbed down by the Professor's meddling. Anteator's Sniper Missile may be compatible with me, but Crowrang's got homing missiles of his own.

Quickly finishing up my shower, I scrubbed my hair with a towel and ran back to my room before putting my armour back on before leaving the room.  
"Well, if you don't wanna talk, you can always use the training room under my name as long as you let me tag along."  
Zero's words echoed in my head—he told me that when we talked in the lounge the other day. But Zero's being repaired, and I don't feel like approaching X for this.

"Axl?"

Well, speak of the devil.

"What are you doing this…early in the morning? It's almost 5 AM." X remarked.  
"I…I couldn't sleep. Well, okay. I slept way too early." I sheepishly explained. "And I just remembered that our next opponent, Wind Crowrang, is a very fast fighter who's got both missiles and melee fighting skills. I have to practice. Zero said I can use the training room under his name, and under his supervision, but I don't…I don't want to trouble him."  
"I see…well, I just got my Hunter ID back, so I can help you with that." X replied as he took out his wallet, opening it to reveal his Hunter ID.  
I laughed briefly. "Is this really okay, X? I don't want to trouble you." I said.  
"It's alright, Axl, I probably need practice myself. I don't want to get rusty." X chuckled. "Good timing, isn't it? Let's go."

Funny how this all turned out. Did I jinx it? Well, whatever. I can't run away from X forever. The more I interact with him, the more I feel like I can forgive him for pointing his buster at me that time. It's annoying, but at the same time, I like it.

"So…can you tell me more about um…Crowrang?" X spoke up, interrupting my train of thoughts.  
"Which part of him, exactly?" I asked. Most likely, he'll want to know about his attacks, abilities and weaknesses, but, well…I can't help but think that he might want to know more than that.  
"Well…everything you feel like telling. How's he like as a person?" X replied, and I widened my eyes in surprise. But is this small talk? Only one way to find out.

"He's a great guy. He's kind of like Zero, but quieter. He lets people figure things out themselves, the way they like it. He just gives nudges to the directions he thinks is right, but in the end he knows that he might not know the best for every individual. He's a free spirit, and he likes people to live free as well." I explained.  
"I see…I would've liked to be able to talk to him." X sighed. "He'd be good drinking buddies with Zero. Wait, does he drink?"  
I laughed at X when he blurted that out. It's adorable, in a dorky kind of way. "Yeah, in moderation. He's one of the people supervising the other generals in bars." I replied.  
X giggled. "I wonder what kind of screwed-up stuff he's seen…"

Oh my god, X.  
I coughed and snorted. "Don't ask."  
"Now you got me curious." X teased…or was it not a joke?  
"No." I replied, laughing afterwards.  
"But I'm curious."  
"But no."  
"Curious."  
"No."  
"Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurioooooooooous."  
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo."

"Okay, you win." X chuckled as he stopped walking, and I stopped as well, looking at the door we had stopped in front of. "This is the training room door."  
"Is it the only one?" I asked.  
"We have at least two in every floor. This is just one of them." X explained as he tapped his wallet on the scanner, and the scanner emitted a green light before the door opened.

In front of us, the training "room" is more like a corridor than a room. There are at least five more rooms inside. I followed X as he walked, and I saw that, it turns out, there are separate rooms for D, C, B, A, and S-class simulations.

"Let's see…Axl, you said Crowrang had melee fighting skills?" X asked.  
"Yeah. He wields two short swords. Or huge knives, whichever conjures up a better mental image." I answered.  
Both of us are long-ranged fighters…so I guess we're fighting against a simulation, not sparring.  
"I would've asked Zero for this, but he's being repaired right now…" X sighed.  
"You mean you don't have a simulation of Zero?" I questioned.  
"Well, we can just use the training dummies, but it just doesn't feel the same. Like, it's better to spar with an actual person." X explained himself.  
"It's better than nothing." I argued.  
"You're right. Let's get started." X concurred, perking up.

He tapped his wallet on the scanner attached to the S-class room door, and we entered the room together.  
Afterwards, I watched as X set up the training circumstances via the settings panel: The ferocity of the training dummies, how many would there be and what kind of dummy is needed.  
"Do I need to set the environment, too?" X murmured.  
"I don't think so…at least not now. We should do something easy for a warm-up." I answered.  
"You have a point…wait, where will we be fighting in?" X asked.

"Master Crowrang had opened a path for you to come to him, and all of us had helped him. As for us, we are simply part of the group who wanted to leave. The rest who wanted to go down with him will stay there as your bridge." The words of Yamaguchi, one of Crowrang's men, echoed in my head.

Crowrang was the head of Red Alert's Air Force. Given his resources and capabilities, as well as what Hyenard and Warfly's guys had done with theirs, we're going to fight…on a fucking aircraft.

I swallowed before revealing it to X. "Looks like we're fighting on an aircraft."  
"Brings back memories…" X sighed with a smile.  
I just snorted before giggling. Right. X and Zero are S-class hunters who had been through so much, years before I was created. Of course they've done weird shit before.

"I don't think Zero should come along…" X muttered.  
"Why not?" I asked. If X is afraid of him being knocked off the aircraft, we're just as likely to be knocked off, as well. I'm not saying that I can catch Zero and plop him back like last time—he was heavy, and I was only able to do it because the battle stage was cramped. But later, we'll be fighting in the sky.  
"We're long-range fighters, so we don't really need to move around. But Zero…he does." X explained.  
"Wait, what? Doesn't Zero have a buster?" I questioned. I remember him telling me about the buster, about two days ago.  
"No…not anymore." X chuckled bitterly. "Some time before I retired, he gave his away to upgrade mine. And then I wasted it by retiring…"

Oh, X. Even after your return, you're still beating yourself up over it?  
I frowned as I feel my heart sink slightly. It's weird how I felt for him so easily, considering what he had done, and also because I don't spare feelings for acquaintances so easily. Maybe there's something about him that makes me feel like that I should care for him.

"X, it's alright. It's all over now." I assured him.  
"No. No, it's not. If I hadn't retired, Axl…I…everything would've been much better." he said.  
"You were only doing what you thought was best. You had no way of knowing that it would lead to this." I continued.  
"Hahah…you're right. Anteator told me that. We can't always know the consequences before we make a decision." X chuckled as he closed the settings panel. "I'm…I'm just…I'm sorry for everything I did to you." he apologized, looking away afterwards.

"Don't sweat it, X." I found myself say. I didn't think I'd tell him that so easily, but…it felt right.  
"Really?" X said, his voice a bit distorted from his regret.  
"There's no point in holding a grudge." I said. Maybe that's why. Maybe because we're working together from this point on, even if it's for this operation, I can't hold the grudge.  
It honestly reminds me of the old days when I was captain. I used to mediate the conflicts between my brothers and stressed the importance of teamwork. Those were the days.

X giggled lowly before he wiped his tears—which I wasn't able to see before, from his face. "Can I give you a hug, Axl?" he asked.  
Smiling at his childishly innocent request, I feel my whole body and mind relaxing before I replied.  
"Sure, X."

He didn't waste any time pulling me into a hug. It was tight, and I got the feeling that he's hugging me like a teddy bear.  
"Thanks, Axl. You're so sweet."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I couldn't sleep at 6 AM. So I wrote this. Also, it's funny how X said the last sentence of this chapter. But it's X, so it works. I'd call Axl sweet any day, but...90%, not to his face. i'm too shy to, most likely._


	32. Chapter 24: SUNDAY

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 24: Sunday**

"What. Happened."

Those were the first words we heard from Zero after his repairs were finished. He was standing in front of us with a crumpled-looking frown of disapproval—a stark contrast from his sparkly, refined armour. His arms were folded as he tapped his right foot.

"Training room." I spoke up.  
"Yeah, right, training room, okay. But there's got to be more than just that. I mean, look at yourselves!" Zero remarked at me and X.

Well, he's not wrong to get all frowny. My hair is messy, X looked like he was ready to plop down on bed, and so do I. God damn, I could really use a rest, but it's 8 AM now.

"Well, Zero, actually, um…we practiced because our next opponent has close-range and long-range options." X chuckled sheepishly.  
"No, that's not all, X. Spit it out. Axl, you too. I won't kill you if you tell the truth." Zero huffed.  
"Truth is…" I spoke up, and then I snorted lightly as I recounted what had happened.

The first few rounds against the training dummy, with none of the environmental adjustments, went swimmingly well. And then we decided to adjust the environment as closely as possible. And that was what got us into this mess…most likely because we had gotten tired, and X was sleep deprived…

"ROSE, DON'T LET GO." X cried out with a demented-looking grin as he held on to my hand—he had nearly "fallen off" from the simulated airship.  
"X! What are you talking about?" I yelled back, bewildered.  
"Listen, Rose. You're gonna get out of here, you're gonna go on and you're gonna make lots of babies, and you're gonna watch them grow. You're gonna die an old... an old lady warm in her bed, not here, not this night. Not like this, do you understand me?" X ranted out as he laughed, as I stared blankly at him.

No, X. This isn't the time to reference Titanic.  
I gritted my teeth, narrowed my eyes and frowned my biggest frown as I held back my laughter in. And then I let go of his hand.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!" X yelled as he "fell down" in the simulation, and it ended just as his blue ass hit the ground.  
I laughed at him as he continued to lie down on the floor.  
"I want a divorce." he said, teasingly.  
"Jack off, Jack." I joked back, laughing.  
"Oh my god." X cackled after hearing the joke.

Zero sighed. "You idiots." he groaned. "X, what have I told you about training while sleep-deprived?"  
"The timing was too good to ignore, okay, Zee?" X defended himself. "Axl was there, and then, well…"  
"And Axl, why were you out at 5 AM?" Zero questioned me.  
"I fell asleep way too early." it was my turn to defend myself. "I tried sleeping in, but it didn't work. Besides, I figured that I might need to prepare to fight Crowrang."

"Crowrang?" Zero questioned. "Oh—"  
"Our next opponent. A crow-based reploid who can wield two daggers. He also has homing missiles." I explained.  
"That sounds like a toughie, alright…" Zero sighed.  
"Plus, we might be fighting on an aircraft." X added.  
"Shit. Well, can't blame you, I suppose. But still, you two should've been more careful." Zero commented.  
"Says the one with the tendency to do the dumbest shit." X scoffed, giggling low at the end.  
"Tch." Zero spat before giggling low afterwards, as well. "Well, dumbasses gotta look out for each other."

I just snorted and smiled at what Zero said. Even though I'm just an acquaintance to them, and vice versa, for some reason I feel like I belong with them. Although I might've just taken their friendliness too seriously. I'm sure they're just as nice to the average rookie.

"Anyways, Zee, since you're just out of the R&D room, anything from Doug and Gate?" X asked.  
"Oh, yeah! Goddammit, almost forgot!" Zero cried out. "Axl. You're seriously immune to the Maverick virus?"  
"Um…yeah? When you two left, Commander Signas brought me in to be tested." I explained.  
"Awesome." Zero cackled, giving me a thumbs up. "Anyways, I've no more comments about it, so let's move on. If you guys are wondering about the special weapons, they say the weapons won't be done until later tonight. We didn't have any hardware to work on, so we have to build from scratch based on what Anteator had sent us." he explained.

"So what do we do now, do we train some more?" I asked. That doesn't sound like a bad idea, after either some sleep, or some E-tanks.  
"Oh yeah, that reminds me." X blurted out. "Zee, we're going to fight on aircrafts. Are you sure you're up for it?"  
"Do you really think I look like I should stay home?" Zero argued, showing off his refined armour, and his fully patched-up body.  
"No…quite the opposite. It's just that...well, because your buster's here now…" X continued as he reached out his arm to Zero.  
"It highly depends on how he fights. So, Axl?" Zero said to me.

"He alternates between flying-and-firing, and standing-and-slashing." I stated.  
"Someone's got to take care of him while he's standing." Zero argued. "Plus, didn't I just say that dumbasses gotta look out for each other?"  
"Right, right. So I guess the three of us are in this together from the get go." I chuckled, feeling a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. This is what I always dreamed of—fighting alongside X and Zero. Well, not exactly in this way…but it's close enough. Plus, it's not exactly detrimental to Red Alert since they…they wanted to be retired because they couldn't retire themselves.

"Oh, Zero, sorry. Just a bit off-topic…since I'm back on the front lines, who's replacing me in the rescue operation?" X asked.  
"Res…cue?" I stuttered out. Don't tell me there are other civilian casualties…haven't Red Alert purposefully selected isolated places so as to not involve civilians?  
Zero sighed. "Well, guess I have to explain it from the get-go. Anyways, ever since the Red Alert crisis started, there are some reploid witch-hunt kind of things going on in a few areas. Technically, it's not our job to protect those reploids, but since some of us are free because Red Alert didn't cause any chaos to the cities, we decided to form an unofficial rescue operation."

My eyes widened as I trembled. My escape, it turns out, had ruined more lives than I had known. Why is that every time I get informed of how badly things had gotten because of what I had done, it's not the worst that's happened? But still…if the Professor hadn't come…if Red didn't let him in…

"So, X, to answer your question…" Zero continued, cutting me off from my train of thoughts, "A few guys from the 9th Special Forces had been transferred, or volunteered to replace you. I don't know the details right now, Alia's got the names, so if you wanna know, you go ahead and ask her."  
"Thanks, Zee." X sighed in relief.  
"Wait, wait, wait. Zero. What are these witch-hunts all about?" I asked. I know humans had gone really racist against reploids, and they were just waiting for a reason to wipe a few of us out, but maybe there's more than just that, that I don't know right now.

"They…they were looking for you. Well, not exactly you since they don't know who you are. But Commander Signas had been approached by reporters and he had to tell them a few things. Like, the bare bones. He was able to hide the fact that you exist, but…now the citizens are looking for 'the one who started it all'. From the reports I read, they wanted to 'return him or her to where he or she belongs to stop all this'." Zero explained.

Oh my god. Just…oh my god.

I gritted my teeth and hung my head. This whole crisis had led to another big crisis. Innocent reploids had been harmed, and…I don't…I don't want to say that it's all my fault. Sure, I escaped. But what would've happened if I didn't? Would I have died like the other generals so far? Would I have died a maverick? Would everything be better right now?

"Zero…should I have stayed in Red Alert?" I muttered.  
"Don't say stupid shit." Zero growled lightly. "You've been a big help, and if those racists want to kill you, they'll have to face Commander Signas…and me."  
"Thanks, I'm sorry, I just…" I stuttered out.  
"I know we're the same in this way, Axl. We tried to do our best. The circumstances just wouldn't cooperate." X assured me. "If you weren't here to help us retire Red Alert, things would've gone on so much differently."  
"You saved my dumb, fat ass yesterday. Don't forget that." Zero added.  
"Thanks, guys." I chuckled, slightly bitterly. Even though I've done good so far, there's no denying the collateral damage that had occurred.

"Commander's just worried that it might affect your application to the Hunters, but you've been proven to be immune to the Maverick virus. Only a brainless fuck would take you and retire you." Zero remarked.  
"Thanks for the reassurance, Zero, I feel better. But it got me thinking. Like, I didn't earn this immunity. I was created with it. And those reploids…they were, um, for a lack of a better word, born reploids. If they were humans, they wouldn't have been assaulted. And if I wasn't immune, well…I wouldn't be here right now." I started ranting.  
"And?" Zero commented.  
"Why are so many things in our lives, and about ourselves, determined by many things we can't control?" I questioned.

It's…unfair. X and Zero had noted that they would've treasured my ability to live and work as a versatile noncombatant, if they had it. Meanwhile, here I am using it for fighting, and nothing else. I kind of feel that my immunity and copy chip are wasted on someone like me. But still, I was found by Red Alert. What if I was found by the Hunters instead?

"Well, Axl, it's kind of…think of it this way." X started speaking. "When you grow up and become more in control of your own life, someday you'll make decisions influencing other people's lives as well. It's gone on that way since the beginning of life itself."  
"Go on…" I replied when he paused, indicating that I had listened.  
"It's just logic. Like, when a man and a woman love each other, they can either have a child, not have a child, or adopt. They have the power to make those decisions. So they can, either directly or indirectly, determine the life of their newborn baby, or a child already living. There are so many scenarios you can apply this rule to, and this is just one of them." X explained.  
"Give it a try, Axl. You might just come up with something that'll greatly help you." Zero urged me.  
"Alright…" I said with a huff, before I took a deep breath.

So let's start from my escape, which kickstarted this whole shitstorm. I didn't decide to escape out of nowhere. It was because the Professor had trashed Red Alert big time. But for the Professor to be able to trash Red Alert and use it violently in the first place, Red had to have taken him in and let him use our resources. But Red's a democratic guy, and even if his judgement is flawed at some point or another, the generals and I are there to provide him with counsel.

Wait. I remember that moment. When the ten of us: Red, Anteator, Crowrang, Stonekong, Boarski, Gungaroo, Warfly, Hyenard, Tonion and me, gathered in the command room for a meeting to decide whether the Professor should stay, I was the only one who disagreed. Everyone seemed to be OK with it. I kept asking them. "Why?" "Has he proven himself?" and then they could only describe him, instead of telling me things that he had actually done. Eventually I got tired of asking, and relented—I was the only one.

How the fuck did that happen?

"Axl…" Zero called out to me, stopping my thoughts. "What's wrong?"  
"I found something." I said as I gently breathed in and out.  
"Found…what exactly?" X questioned.  
"Something I need to ask Crowrang about when we meet."


	33. Chapter 25: CAGE

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 25: Cage**

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _At this point you'll know that I tend to skip stage confrontations I can't expand on. Like when I wrote Boarski's chapter, I skipped the stage part because otherwise it would be like "turn left, turn right, collect bomb, dodge attacks" and I have next to nothing to expand it with, unlike the bit with Anteator's trainee programmers and Warfly's unit. I even changed the stage altogether in Hyenard's section to fit the story better. So I'm doing the same with this one because it'll be like "jump jump shoot jump". eue;_

 _As a side note, PMGR finally got over 7,000 views! Why 7k? Because, well, this is an adaptation of Megaman X7. To celebrate, you guys are free to write yourselves, or your OC in a chapter of PMGR I had already written. Like, how would it go with you or your OC in there? You can write a one-shot or a few chapters. I'll read it. Just please indicate in the title that it's as part of the "PMGR 7k views" celebration, as a keyword of sorts to me. Feel free to tell me via PM. I'll be actively reading those until PMGR chapter 30 is out.  
_

* * *

After a while of hopping around aircrafts and shooting Crowrang's men who intended to die, we finally reached the cockpit. When we entered the cockpit, X held his head for a moment.

"X, what's wrong?" Zero called out to him.  
"I don't know…nothing, probably. Maybe I'm not used to…killing people again." X huffed out.

"Hey, X, Zero, Captain." Derek, the pilot of the mother ship, called out to me. His eyes are vacant and unfocused. He's probably very shaken at all this…  
"Hey, Derek…what's up?" I greeted him back, chuckling at the end.  
"Nothing, just…congrats for making it out here." Derek replied.  
"What are your plans after this?" I asked.

Surely he doesn't intend to die? Surely he doesn't intend to guide all the ships to sink down, or detonate the mother ship and prompt the others into doing the same to the ships they're piloting? The guys in the red ships did the latter, and it greatly upset the three of us. They threw away their lives just like that? As we had known, the only ones infected by the virus were the generals—the Red Alert members who defected earlier never showed any signs of infection.

"I don't know, Captain." Derek sighed. "I've…I've lost everything."  
"We've all lost everything the moment the Prof got his dirty hands on the generals." I stated. "Don't throw your life away, Derek. We're reploids. We can learn new things, right?"  
"Where do I go?" Derek questioned. "You can go in the Maverick Hunters since they'd appreciate people of your calibre, but me?"  
"Derek…no one's worthless." X chimed in. It was a surprise, so I tensed at first. But it was a good surprise, so I smiled at him afterwards.  
Derek chuckled to himself. "Right…I'm piloting this ship, keeping it afloat. Thanks, X." Derek said as he pressed a button—it opened the entrance to the top of the ship, just behind us. A ladder slowly descended for us to climb up.

"All the best, Derek." Zero said to Derek before climbing up the stairs.  
I nodded and saluted at him before climbing. X followed us afterwards.

When we arrived on the top of the mother ship, Crowrang was already there, sitting down, facing the entrance. He didn't move when he saw the three of us.  
Right…I can finally ask him.

"Crowrang?" I called out.  
"Hey, Axl." Crowrang greeted me with a smile. "So, this is the end?" he continued before taking out his double short swords.  
"Nope, not just yet." I replied, holding out my left hand to make a "stop" gesture. "I need to ask you a few things."  
"Sure, go ahead. Might as well be a bit more useful before I kick the bucket." Crowrang sighed as he stabbed both swords on the ground. "Fucking Prof…"

"You remember when we discussed the Professor's integration? You, me, the other generals, and Red?" I brought up the topic. Back then, I was the only one who said no…  
"Kind of…" Crowrang replied, a hint of doubt in his voice. "And?"  
"You know the Professor's a creepy ass. But why did you say yes, along with the others? Hell, why did everyone say yes, except for me?" I asked the big question at last.

Crowrang went silent for a few seconds. But then, he suddenly trembled and slammed his fist on the ground.  
"That damn Professor!" he cursed. "I didn't know until Anteator gave me the codes to reverse-engineer the virus. For a lack of a better word, he possessed all of us with that virus!"  
"So he really is Sigma!" X exclaimed.  
"Who the fuck knows." Crowrang growled. "No one's seen his face. He hides it behind a cloak. He shoves anyone who tried to sneak a look. Either way, doesn't matter. He took away our free will just like that, and by the time we got it back, it's too late…so just kill me already, will you?"

I flinched at Crowrang's last sentence. He was always the one promoting the concept of living on. But now, he's…

"Crowrang, just what the fuck happened to you?" I cried out. Such a change…  
"The virus happened, that's what." Crowrang argued back. "Even if I escape, in the end the Professor will be able to control me remotely."  
"What if we capture the rest of the generals, then kill the Professor?" I proposed. Why the hell didn't I think of this before? Most likely because we didn't know what really caused Red Alert's degeneration, but now that we know, we can save everyone, right?

Crowrang just laughed bitterly at the suggestion. "I tried that." he said, almost sobbing. "All of us, part of the unit who had decided to stay, we surrounded the Professor when he's in a corner. We utterly trashed him in that sneak attack, but then…"  
"Now what, Crowrang?" I pressed.  
"He got Derek…and everyone else. He forced us to repair him…" he continued, sounding utterly defeated.  
"So that headache was…!" X gasped.

"But didn't Anteator give you the codes?" I pressed.  
"Didn't he say that we have lost full control of our bodies?" Crowrang lowly replied. "I've set all the ships to self-destruct. Because of my stupid idea, the others got infected like me…I should've been the one who died instead!" he cried out. "The Prof infected my unit to make an example of all of us…"

I gritted my teeth. Just as I thought everything will be easier for all of us, it got harder. Crowrang got hit with it very hard. He wanted to free all of us from the Professor's clutches, only to lose more than everyone else.

"Crowrang, please don't say such things…" I weakly spoke out. As much as I know it's hard for him, it's just as hard for me to see him like this…  
"I know, right?" Crowrang replied. "To think me, of all people, would sink this low. But at least, after assaulting the Professor that time and then repairing him, I found one weakness of his current body model, that he can't circumvent…" he said.  
"What? What is it?" I asked.  
"It's Splash Laser. Would you believe it? He's weak to a fucking water gun." Crowrang guffawed. "Probably the point, though."

"Anyways…before we fight. So Red Alert was possessed by the Professor into agreeing to take him in?" I tried to confirm. "That was it? Just that?"  
"Yeah." Crowrang replied.  
"And then you…you found his weakness. That was awesome, Crowrang, you know that?" I chuckled.  
"I wish I could've done it without getting the rest of my unit into trouble…" he sighed. "They could've lived on."  
"It was their choice to stand by you, and die with Red Alert." Zero stated.  
"Ha, you're right. And thanks to Anteator, they don't die raving mad, even if they're infected." Crowrang replied.

"All of you are honourable men. Don't forget that." Zero further stated, folding his arms.  
"And we're going to die like one, starting with me." Crowrang said, chuckling as he took out his short swords.  
"I wish you wouldn't speak of it so lightly." X remarked. "You're…throwing your life away."  
"I don't like it, either. But now, we're being forcibly remote-controlled. Humans can't get controlled like this, so you can tell them that. But us? We don't have that kind of privilege, so we have to suck it up." Crowrang stated.  
"Axl does." Zero said. "He's immune to the virus, and that's why he's here right now."  
"Life is a casino. It highly depends on luck. We can work hard, but we don't determine 60% of our lives. I didn't get a triple-seven, that's why." he replied.

"Why so fucking grim?" I questioned. "You were a free spirit, what happened?"  
"My life was already over the moment I became his toy. Besides, do you believe in reincarnation?" Crowrang said.  
"I…I've never thought of it…" I stuttered out.  
"Someday, I will be reborn. And on that day, I'll fight for my life, just as always. I've lost the battle, but not the war." Crowrang replied. "So are we going to end the battle, or make it drag on?"

Without saying another word, I drew my guns, set them to load the Sniper Missile via mental suggestion, and shot two missiles at Crowrang. He quickly sliced the both of them.

"I'm not gonna die like a sissy, even if it's the last thing I do." he taunted before spreading his wings.

Even with his flying capabilities limited by the Professor, he was still able to fly around the roof of the mother ship.

"Goes without saying that the charge shot strategy's not gonna work." X muttered. "Any other suggestions?"  
"My time to shine. He can slice off the missiles, right? Let's see he slice this!" Zero yelled and jumped before slashing his saber sideways, sending a blue shot-like projectile—Hieijin—at Crowrang. Crowrang tried to dodge, but no matter how quickly he flew, the projectile was too fast for him, and it hit, causing him to caw out.

"So that's how it is." Crowrang lowly chuckled before tossing both of his swords at us. The first sword sliced Zero's hand, causing him to scream out and drop the Z-saber, and it clattered…it's going to roll off the ship!

"Aggggh, motherfucker!" Zero cried out.  
I quickly dashed away and dove forwards to grab the Z-saber. I dashed forwards—it's so close to falling down from the ship, down to god knows where. I reached until I couldn't feel the ground.  
"Axl!" X called out to me, dashing after me. He really didn't have to do that…  
I managed to grab the Z-saber, and X managed to grab my foot.

"Let go, X." I replied. Doesn't he know I can hover?  
"I won't! I won't let go!" he insisted.  
"I can hover, X." I explained.  
"Don't play around, Axl!" he yelled at me. God damn, is he blind?  
"You idiots!" Zero called out to us and I heard him walking to help us, but he screamed when Crowrang threw another sword at him.

"Goddammit!" Zero cursed.  
"Don't ignore me." Crowrang lowly said as he descended, pulling off his sword that had sliced Zero's hand before it landed on the ground. Afterwards, he fired two homing missiles.

"No! Argh!" Zero yelled when Crowrang fired, and an explosion was heard. One missile had hit him. And then, I heard another explosion—and then, X screamed, and he lost his balance, tumbling down.  
"X! Axl!" Zero screamed when he heard what had happened. The first thing I did was activate my jets before grabbing X.  
"What…?" X blurted out.  
"I told you I can hover." I chuckled. "I won't let go." I continued, calling back to the joke we had in the training room, as I sped back up to the ship.  
"Don't let go, Rose." X continued the joke as he held on to me.

When we landed on the ship and I dropped X there, Zero was blocking Crowrang's attacks with just one hand—his other hand was bleeding. Whenever Crowrang tried to slice him, Zero slapped his arm away. He also slapped the missiles Crowrang shot at him, but was still unable to attack. Zero was limping—Crowrang's other sword was stuck on his leg. Crowrang tried to pull it out every time, but Zero slapped his hand away every time, too.

"Stoooooooop!" X cried out as he fired a shot at Crowrang, who backflipped away to dodge it.  
Zero's saber in my hand, I should do the only logical thing and give it back.

Wait.

"Synchronisation successful." A male computer voice played in my head. "The Z-saber is set to Hieijin." it continued.  
Zero's weapon is synchronising with me? How is this possible? Let's try it out…  
I slashed the saber sideways the same way Zero did it, and fired Hieijin. It hit Crowrang in the middle of his backflip, and he landed on his ass.

Whoa. What the hell, Zero's weapon is actually syncing with me?

"How…" Zero blurted out.  
"I couldn't even use any special weapons with his saber…" X noted.  
"I don't know either, copy chip, maybe?" I tried to explain this phenomenon that none of us understood.  
"I don't care." Crowrang remarked, chuckling as he got up.

I just sliced the saber sideways to keep firing Hieijin at Crowrang. Zero watched as he relaxed slightly after what he had gone through, and X fired small shots at Crowrang. Crowrang cawed as he kept getting hit, and threw his sword at my hand, and I pulled it away, out of range…only to see X shooting it away, and to see the sword get launched weakly at Zero's direction.

"I'm keeping both of these." Zero said as he picked up the other sword, and pulled off the sword still stuck on his leg. Crowrang cawed disapprovingly in response.

I'll need to get his DNA data, since I formatted my whole database when I left. I'm not planning to use it against Gungaroo, but I don't want to not have any data of my family when we're done with this bullshit.  
But not even the Double Bullet can fire homing shots, and physical missiles can be countered—Zero was able to slap Crowrang's missiles away, I'm sure Crowrang's learned to do the same with Sniper Missile.  
The Z-saber's synced with me, and I needed to sync with weapons to fire Copy Shots. I should combine it with Hieijin, like, partial shapeshifting. Just, maybe…

Mentally suggesting the Z-saber to combine my copy shot with the Hieijin, I slashed the saber sideways—and the Hieijin came out. But instead of its usual blue colour, it was red.

Crowrang ran away from the red Hieijin I fired, and passed by the sitting Zero. Zero yelped and ducked as the Hieijin zoomed past him. Seeing that his attempt to redirect the Hieijin had failed, he ran towards me—this is bad. He's bigger than me, and he might just snatch the Z-saber. I quickly kicked him, and as he tumbled backwards, the Hieijin hit his head crystal, and I felt his DNA data being copied into my storage.

Crowrang coughed as electricity fizzed on his head, and struggled to stand.  
"Live on, Axl." he said. "I wanna see your face when I've reborn."  
"Yeah." I chuckled to hide my sadness and make holding back my tears easier.  
More and more electricity fizzed on his head, and he used the last of his strength to fly away, and he exploded in mid-air.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This chapter has kind of a mixed-feelings feel to it. I'm all for hard work and turning your life around, but I can't ignore the fact that yes, 60% of our lives revolve around variables we can't control. We can't decide who we want as our birth parents. We can't decide where to be born. We have to live with it. But it's alright. Our birth doesn't determine the end of our lives._


	34. Chapter 26: KEY

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 26: Key**

When we teleported to HQ, the first thing I saw was the monitor showing the ships exploding in mid-air. I…I don't want to see that. Even though they're liberating themselves from the Professor's virus, they're still dying and it hurts to look at. I looked away, and saw X's hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Axl." X whispered.  
"It's alright, X. You were right." I replied.  
"What do you mean?" he questioned.  
"The Professor was powerful enough to control their lives, and made decisions that led to this." I said. "But at the same time, Anteator's more powerful than him. Otherwise, we…we wouldn't have been able to speak to Crowrang one last time."  
"We're more powerful than the Professor too, Axl. I can promise that." X replied, patting my shoulder before sliding his hand away—Signas had turned to face us.

"Congratulations, hunters. Mission complete." Signas declared.  
"We can't recover any hardware from Crowrang like this and you have the data…" Alia spoke up, turning to me. "So, Axl, before you get your rest, we'll need you to transform into Crowrang and go to the R&D lab to help Douglas and Gate, like the last time with Boarski." she continued.  
"No problem." I responded. As much as I wanted to cry myself to sleep alone, time is of the essence and I can't delay anyone.  
"And Zero, you need to get repaired." Alia flatly stated, turning to Zero—his armour was dented and scratched, his right hand and leg were bleeding, and his face was bruised. "Again."  
"Look, I didn't do anything stupid this time." Zero defended himself.  
"Doesn't matter. Axl, you go first. I'm going to have to help him walk." X said.

"That is all, unless you have any questions." Signas chimed in.  
"No." I said. "Not yet."  
"What he said." Zero followed.  
"Yeah." X followed.  
"Then you are all dismissed. Good evening." Signas declared. I saluted at him, while X, who had started supporting Zero, nodded at him with Zero. I walked to the R&D room while X and Zero fell behind me.

When I was in front of the R&D room door, it opened.  
"I'll take care of Zero." Douglas declared. "Gate's going to help you out."  
"I hope you don't mind staying transformed for hours…again." Gate sheepishly said.  
"Nah, it's fine." I replied. "It's for everyone's good."  
"I watched the fight. Both of us did." Gate said. "I'll need to figure out how did you sync with Zero's saber, and how you could combine two weapons into one."  
"Yeah, you're the one who figures out the crazy stuff." Douglas laughed. "I'm just gonna leave you two alone. I need to prepare to patch Zero up. And later, X, too."  
"Let's start, Axl. Are you ready?" Gate asked.  
I answered nonverbally by transforming into Crowrang, and walked towards him.

…

I woke up in a recharging pod in the R&D room. It's like last time after I transformed into Boarski, but this time, instead of Zero, Gate was with me.

"Hey." Gate called out to me when he saw my eyes open.  
"Hi." I replied—I still feel kind of sleepy.  
"It's done." Gate said. "I got the info on the special weapons."  
"Good." I responded, still sleepy.

"And on you, too." he added. "I found that you had recently developed the ability to partial-shift, and partially-transform your guns. That was awesome."  
"Thanks, Gate." I thanked him with a small smile. "I know my copy chip gets better the more I use it, but I didn't expect it to branch out in this way."  
"You can't shift elements, though, just the characteristics. Hold on…" Gate said, opening up the capsule glass from outside at the end of his speech. "Try transforming just your arm."

I got up, the cable still connected to the back of my neck, and I concentrated to transform just my left arm. I picked Anteator's DNA, because his hand is much more different than the average reploid's. Sure enough, only my left arm transformed into Anteator's arm.

"So it was real…" I remarked.  
"And it's not the only thing that's real." Gate replied as I reverted my left arm. "How on Earth do you have systems similar to Zero?"  
"I don't know, either." I remarked. "Maybe I'm his long-lost brother?"  
"There was no one else in the lab he was found in, and your frame is relatively recent—ten years old." Gate explained.  
"His creator's descendant, maybe?" I questioned. Who else could've done that?  
"Maybe…but we don't even know who created him. Zero wouldn't tell us anything about it." Gate answered. "I also tried accessing your base data files, but they're archived in a format that we can't read."

I groaned. No one can help me find out who I really am? Well, never mind. I'll just find out myself. But I don't want it to be too late when I find out…

"It's okay, Axl." Gate assured me after he heard my groaning. "We'll find your creators eventually."  
"How long is 'eventually', though?" I asked.  
"No idea…but we'll get to it. Remember when I said something about recovering lost tech in virus-thick areas?" Gate pointed out.

But…no one lives there except for mavericks. If my creators were human, they would've died by now if they were there. If they were reploids, they would've gone maverick…but who's to say that they've made sure they're just as immune as I am, if they were reploids?

"Oh. Oh my god, Axl, I'm so sorry." Gate apologized when he realized the implications of what he said, when he saw me tense and go silent.  
"No, no, no, it's okay—I just…my creators, if they were reploids, they're immune to the virus too, right?" I said, communicating my thoughts.  
"Oh…right." Gate sighed in relief. "But still, that was insensitive of me. I'm sorry."  
"It's fine, Gate. You just wanted to cheer me up." I chuckled.

Wait. Has their data been recovered, if they were there?  
Two days ago, Gate did say that there's one other person besides me who was immune…

"Gate…" I called out to him. "There's someone else who's been retrieving tech before I came here, right?"  
"Yeah. And?" Gate asked.  
"Have they recovered any data relevant to me?" I asked back.  
"No, not yet." Gate replied, shaking his head. "Some of the areas are too complicated for her to reach, and that's where you come in. As far as we know now, we know whatever she's brought home from missions, and your data's not among them." he explained.

True, it does make sense. If it was my data, I would be one of the few people allowed access to it, besides my creators. Maybe a fingerprint scanner or something. I'm the only shape-shifting reploid so far, after all.

"Maybe I can get my data through those missions one day." I wondered out loud.  
"We hope so, too. It hurts not knowing your creator." Gate replied.

"How's Zero doing?" I said, changing the topic. I hope he's alright…Crowrang roughed him up real bad. It's even worse than the last fight against Anteator…  
"Dozing off. X's being recharged, too." Gate answered.  
"Aren't you tired? And Douglas, too?" I asked. I'm not the only one working hard over here. Douglas worked his ass off, and Gate…he had to be careful with me while I was opened up, and didn't take any breaks, because he knew it was straining for me to stay transformed while being opened up.

"Chugged a lot of E-tanks." Gate answered. "I feel better now, although I'll have to work on the special weapons soon."  
Oh, that reminds me…  
"Gate, can you…you don't have to make it." I said.  
"Eh? Why?" Gate blurted out, his relaxed tone disappearing.  
"I promised to duel Gungaroo. One-on-one." I explained.  
"Without special weapons? How's he like anyways? I don't want you getting killed." Gate questioned, folding his arms.  
"Let's just say, for so many years, I trained so much for this day." I replied. "It's personal."

Gate sighed and placed one hand on his hip.  
"Personal's personal, Axl. But if you ever get in a tight spot, the mission takes first priority, do you understand that? So I'm going to work on it anyways." Gate scolded.  
It sounded stupid—maybe it is stupid. But still, I promised. At least I need to make an effort to keep it.  
"I understand, Gate. I'm sorry…that was a stupid thing to say, but there's no other time." it was my turn to apologise.  
"It's fine, just…don't do anything stupid." he replied, before glancing at Zero's capsule. "You can get hurt real bad, even if you don't do anything stupid."  
"Don't worry, Gate." I assured him.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Well, this is a short chapter...but it's fine. This chapter's only to explain Axl's new ability and as a "bridge" to the fight against Gungaroo, anyways. So I have two Axls, if you don't know: Lambda and Delta. Lambda is PMGR's Axl, while Delta is TViYH's Axl. To make them even more different from each other, I gave Lambda the ability to partial-shapeshift, like only changing the arms or the legs.  
Eventually, I figured out that because Delta's creator was able to use all his (remaining) funds to create Delta (while Lambda's creators couldn't), Delta would have this ability, too. But it stuck because I like the idea. It extended to his guns as well, because I came up with the guns transforming due to the concept of "If he was created to be able to transform, why not the creator do the same to his guns?" Lambda ended up shifting Zero's weapon in that way after it synchronized with him._


	35. Chapter 27: CLARITY

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 27: Clarity**

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _Oh yeah, more about the PMGR 7k views celebration—I'll be considering all the chapters you write for the celebration as non-canon, but only because I don't want to restrict your creativity by policing your writings. This isn't a competition or a call for ideas—this is just for fun, and so that I can get to know you better, too. I'll be delaying chapter 30 to give you more time. It's also because I have pictures to draw._

 _Also, aylengm, I have never watched D-Gray Man. If I make a reference, I'll state it at the end of the story via Author's Notes._

* * *

I left the command room the next day after Zero took me to talk to Signas over my decision for the fight against Gungaroo the next day. I had decided against using special weapons, and to duel Gungaroo one-on-one.

"Very well, I trust you. But if you get too injured, then you'll have to let Zero and X intervene. This is still a mission, and that fact takes the highest priority." was one of the last sentences Signas had said.

Well, I can't blame him. This is still a mission, even though this'll be the last time I'm seeing Gungaroo.

"So, Axl…" Zero said to me as we walked away from the command room. "Gate and Douglas are hogging the R&D room working on the special weapons for tomorrow. And tomorrow, you've decided to duel Gungaroo…can you tell me about it? Or would you rather train? Oh yeah, can't forget yesterday—you actually synced with my saber."

I inhaled as I thought—training would be alright, although it might relax my nerves if I tell Zero about what happened between me and Gungaroo. But at the same time, I should also figure out what was yesterday's synchronisation all about. Wait. Speaking of yesterday…

"Ah, sorry, Zero, but I kind of…remember when Crowrang said that the Professor's weakness is Splash Laser?" I said.  
"Oh. Oh, yeah, so?" Zero replied.  
"We're the only ones with Warfly's special weapons. X doesn't have any of that." I added.  
"Oh yeah, shit." Zero cursed, facepalming. "But it's still a long way away, right? We can always think about it later. For now, we should talk about tomorrow." Zero continued.

I guess training would be the best way to go about this. Ride-armour piloting is OK, but I have a fragile frame and even though I can hit hard, I can't take as many hits.

"Right, so we should head to the training room. Tomorrow I'll have a ride armour duel with Gungaroo before we proceed to punching and kicking each other." I explained.  
"Whoa, Axl, what the hell?" Zero chuckled. "Martial arts?"  
"Didn't expect that, did you?" I replied. "But I can actually hit pretty hard."  
"Ooooh, I gotta find out for myself. Wanna spar with me?" Zero offered.

My eyes widened as I leaned back. Me? Spar with Maverick Hunter Zero? This is a no-brainer.

"Sure, Zee. Awesome." I accepted with a huge grin on my face.  
"Do I happen to look like this Gungaroo?" Zero asked.  
"Kind of far from it. Were you expecting a huge momma kangaroo lookalike? He's actually half your height." I answered, giggling lowly at the end.  
"Oh dammit." Zero cackled. "So I'm a bigger target. I hope you don't mind the lowered difficulty."  
"Nah, it's fine, Zero. It's better to spar with you than a training dummy." I replied, telling the truth. Sure, we can configure training dummies, but it's doesn't feel the same as training with an actual person.

We headed for one of the training rooms in this floor, and then we saw the S-rank mini-room's interface:

TRAINING ROOM STATUS: OCCUPIED [NOT LOCKED]  
OCCUPANT: X [TIME ELAPSED: 3 HOURS]

Wait, how can one occupy, but not lock the training room?

Zero heaved a big sigh. "X, you stupid idiot."  
"Wait, Zero." I said. "Why is it occupied, but not locked?"  
"Well, it's a system we have here to prevent people from hogging the training rooms for too long. B-ranks and below aren't allowed to lock training rooms. A-ranks and S-ranks can, because they're the one undertaking more dangerous missions." Zero explained. "There's a queue system and time limits, but we won't get into that now yet. For now I just need to…"

At the end of his speech, he tapped his Hunter ID card on the scanner and pressed the bell near the card scanner.

"Zero?" X's voice was heard after the bell was pressed.  
"Hey, X." Zero replied in an annoyed tone of voice. "It's 9 AM. You've been slaving yourself in this chicken coop for 3 hours. I demand an explanation."  
"I just…" X stuttered out. "Hold on, I'm opening the door."

A few seconds later, the door slid open, revealing a weary-faced, heavy-eyed X. Zero was right when he said that X had been "slaving himself"…

"Hey, Axl." X greeted me with a small smile—in fact, the biggest smile he can smile in this state.  
"Hi, X." I said, forcing a smile to be polite—I just feel sad, looking at him like this.  
"Ahem." Zero loudly cleared his throat. "X. Did you sleep?" he started interrogating X.  
"No." X answered, hanging his head. "I tried. I couldn't."  
"Why?" Zero asked, his voice a bit gentler.  
"I just…I feel useless after yesterday. You got hurt. I was an idiot." X confessed.  
"X, you were just being cooperative. You shouldn't beat yourself over trying to save Axl, even though you didn't need to." Zero assured.  
"I…I should've noticed the white jets on his boots. If I had let him, you wouldn't have to fend off Crowrang alone, with just one hand." X insisted.  
"Look at me, X. Does it look like what happened yesterday matters now?" Zero questioned.  
"N-no…" X stuttered out. "But still, I…I don't want to mess up again! Something worse can happen!"  
"You've learned already. No need to destroy yourself over this." Zero said as he led X away, and I followed him. He led X to the men's bathroom and showers, and we stopped in front of the sinks. "Now, look at yourself." Zero said.

X stared at his reflection in the mirror—he finally saw what Zero and I saw. Heavy, droopy eyes—he's clearly still sleep-deprived. And since reploids don't require sleep, he could've just taken E-tanks, but apparently, he hasn't been gulping any.

"Does it look like you need to stop?" Zero gently questioned, as X's eyes widened—as wide as it can get in his sleepy state, anyways—in horror over his own reflection.  
"My god." X remarked. "I…Zero, I'm…I worried you, I'm sorry…"  
Zero sighed. "It's okay, X. Just take your rest, alright?"  
"Yeah, thanks a lot, Zee." X said, smiling as wide as he can. "Bye, Axl."  
"Bye, X. Don't punish yourself like that, alright?" I replied.  
"I promise." X huffed out.  
"You better, X. Now off you go." Zero said.  
X just nodded and waved at us before he washed his face and left.

"Sorry about that, Axl." Zero apologized once X's left the training room.  
"No, it's okay. I understand his feelings. A lot." I replied, remembering how my first year in Red Alert was like—most everyone, except for a select few, always treated me like a kid who couldn't do jack shit, so I worked hard to be useful.  
"Bless his heart." Zero sighed. "Sometimes he sacrifices himself way too much for others. I wish he knew how much we don't like seeing him get hurt."

I can't help but feel that Zero's second sentence was a bit hypocritical—having read as much as I could on both him and X, Zero's sacrificed himself to death twice. X probably doesn't want a third sacrifice, that's why…but in the end he just took the "misery ball" away from Zero. But of course, I can't tell Zero that. It's impolite, and I don't think I have the right to police their relationship.

"He'll understand, Zero." I responded, trying to give Zero hints to what I really think without being offensive. "You explained it to him really well."  
"Heheh, thanks, Axl." Zero chuckled. "Well, let's get to training, yeah?"

We entered the training room, and Zero locked it. Afterwards, we readied our battle stances.

"Any questions before we go?" I asked Zero, just in case he needs to know something before we start beating each other up.  
"Nope. I'll start asking when we're done." Zero replied. "Ready, Axl?"  
"Ready." I responded—that was our cue.

We dashed towards each other, but just as I was only a few distances in front of Zero, I jumped over him, somersaulted and landed on my feet before swing-kicking Zero's head, shattering one of his ear cones.

"Ow!" Zero cried out. "You slippery bastard!" he said as he turned back to punch me, but I dodged by backflipping.  
"I have to be if my target is smaller than me!" I yelled back.  
"Are you calling me a fat slob?" Zero jokingly yelled.  
"You're calling yourself a fat slob!" I added to the joke as I watched Zero run towards me.

I ran towards him, and swooped downwards, kicking his leg. Zero almost lost his balance, but he didn't—and stepped on my boot instead!

"God dammit!" I cursed.  
"Got you nooooooow!" Zero cackled, his foot underneath my leg.  
I said nothing, instead kicking my other leg—which happened to be underneath his crotch—upwards, as hard as I can.  
Zero shrieked like a displeased human baby afterwards. My kick had cracked his crotch armour, on the bottom. His pain weakened his pressure over my other leg, and I slipped away.

"My masculinity!" Zero cried out.  
"Zero, it's okay. We're not humans." I cackled—I'm not lying, though. He can get his dick fixed.  
"Well, then let's see I shatter yours!" Zero joked as he tried to swing-kick me, but I grabbed his leg. But it was a bad move—he ended up flinging me away. I was launched across the room, and my back roughly slid on the floor until my head hit the wall.

"Argh, I was a dumbass." I cursed at myself as I got up—Zero is bigger and stronger than me, I should've known better than to try to grab him. Even if Gungaroo is small, I think the result would be the same. He's got more brute force, even though he's way smaller than me.  
Zero let out some ugly laughter before advancing towards me, cracking his knuckles.  
Oh god, this isn't gonna go well.

I got up and braced myself, adopting a defensive stance. Zero's big hands started punching me as soon as he got close, and I dodged every time—although sometimes, the dodge was narrow. One punch or two managed to crack the white extensions on my helmet. However, his body below the chest was open. I lifted my leg and kicked his stomach as hard as I can.

The kick was actually strong enough to the point that Zero almost lost his balance and started coughing.

"Damn, Axl, your football punts hurt like a bitch." Zero hissed as he held his stomach.  
"Thanks." I chuckled. "You throw better punches than me, though, Zee." I complimented him back, telling the truth. He's only kicked once the whole fight, and I've never punched for the whole fight—guess we know each other's fighting style now. But the problem is, Gungaroo does both…  
"Have I been a good substitute?" Zero asked, giggling at the end. Damn, it's like he read my mind.  
"Well, actually…"

…

…

…

A few hours later, we were standing in front of X. My helmet was shattered, and Zero's was cracked. Zero's torso was absolutely trashed—I cracked one of his chest lights. My own chest light was destroyed, even though the rest of my torso was fine. Zero's boots were cracked, and my left gauntlet's also cracked. Of course, that's not counting the previous damage before I told Zero about Gungaroo's fighting style. I…cracked Zero's crotch armour with a kick, after all…

"What. Happened." X said, his arms folded, glaring at us. An angry X is so much scarier than an angry Zero. He's even scarier now that he's gotten enough rest. His eyes are sharp. Very sharp…  
"Um. Training room." Zero replied.  
"Yeah. Sparring for the next fight." I added.  
"You idiots." X growled. "You're gonna have to spend the rest of the day being fixed up! What happened? Why are you two such a mess?" he questioned.

We pointed at each other at the same time. Oh boy, explaining everything to X, and then Douglas, is gonna be hard…

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Nothing much else to say about this chapter, aside from the fact that I love the call-back to Chapter 24 at the end._


	36. Chapter 28: REFLECTION

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 28: Reflection**

"Axl. We meet again."

It was the first words I heard from Gungaroo after some time. I cough-snorted when I heard it, because he tried to lower his voice to sound like typical action movie antagonists with deep voices.

"Shut up." I replied, giggling afterwards. "It doesn't work."  
"You shut up." Gungaroo cackled. "I tried."

X and Zero sat on one of the taller crates, watching our exchange in Gungaroo's "arena". As we have agreed, they're not going to interfere unless I get too injured to continue. In the arena, there were three ride armours: One of them was a red, spider-like ride armour with two arms—one normal arm and one drill arm, called Raiden II. Another was a blue, more humanoid one with two shoulder cannons, one gun-arm and one normal arm, called Gouden. The third one was Gungaroo's pink custom ride armour with two normal punching arms, modelled after a mother kangaroo.

"Anyways, doesn't matter. This'll be the last one, won't it?" Gungaroo remarked, a sad smile on his face. "And we're pressed for time, too…"  
"I'm sorry this had to happen to you…all of us." I replied, frowning.  
"The worst part is that we couldn't do anything about it from the get-go…but let's not bawl over it. There's no point to it." Gungaroo chuckled. "Let's just get it over with?"  
"Don't say it like that." I lightly scolded him when he referred to starting our promised duel as "getting it over with".  
"Yeah, right…sorry." Gungaroo apologized, with a small smile on his face. "I've waited for too long."  
"Same to me." I replied.

We said nothing as we walked over to our ride armours. Gungaroo got into his pink ride armour, and I chose the blue Gouden.

"A gunner is a gunner is a gunner, eh?" Gungaroo quipped.  
"Not always." I countered.

In fact, it was him who enabled me to answer "not always", in a way. After what had happened before that, it was very kind of him. The one who taught me to kick? It was him.

He threw the first ride-armour punch, and I dodged to the side, shooting his ride armour as I did. After the first few shots hit, Gungaroo had his ride armour jump around, making it hard for me to hit it. Because I would be vulnerable to a sudden punch otherwise, I moved around as well, and kept shooting while I did.

I was rewarded with a horrible heart attack when Gungaroo decided to punch the gun-arm of the Gouden. Because I had been shooting, hence extending that arm, it was an easy target for him. One punch broke the barrel.

I tensed. It's just like last time, but it was without ride armours back then. We had a duel before we promised to have another one. He beat me senseless. He was a small target—always is, so he dodged my shots easily. Even when I transformed it into the G-Launcher using his DNA data, he could still dodge some of them. It was when he got close to me that everything was pretty much over. I was a pulp afterwards. But I think I deserved it.

"Nostalgia?" Gungaroo joked when he saw me staring at the broken gun.  
"I don't intend on losing twice to you, the same way." I chuckled bitterly.  
"It's always your weakness, Axl, like I have mine." Gungaroo responded.

I just smiled. He wasn't the only one who decided to enrich me after that first duel. I did the same. With Anteator's help, I installed some sort of mini-gun on his tail, and then after that, I taught him how to aim. He was always most vulnerable to snipers and shooters. He may be a small target, but a target is a target is a target.

I dashed away and fired the shoulder cannons, and one of the rockets hit Gungaroo's ride armour on the head.

"Ohhh, fruitcakes!" he grumbled.  
"I think you mean fu—" I teased, but he cut it off.  
"No, no cussing!" he scolded me. "Not for me."  
I just laughed.  
"I think I jinxed it, but I don't care. Auto-aim's gone now that the head's busted, but I can still punch!" Gungaroo announced.  
"Then bring it on!"

Gungaroo struggled to land a hit on me, and it's the same way with me. It's a bit harder with the shoulder cannons because it's not as straightforward as aiming with the arm, but, well, I can still shoot.

Our first duel wasn't as friendly. It didn't start off "friendly". I started the whole root of it by being a jerk to him. On my first days in Red Alert, Gungaroo was one of the people friendliest to me. He told me he was happy to have a fellow "kid" in the base. I didn't understand what it meant until some of the Red Alert members, especially Warfly, started teasing the both of us.

Gungaroo shrugged it off and told me that they don't mean any harm, even though he was a bit hurt by Warfly's hostility towards me. But I was way more of a kid than he was at the time. I was sensitive. And at the time, I was also determined to prove myself to be useful. So even though Gungaroo was right that they were just teasing harmlessly, I didn't listen.  
We started fighting. I told him he didn't understand what I felt, even though, in fact, he did…a long time ago. He was teased the same way, and he had to bear it alone. But I was a stupid kid who understood jack shit. And so I left him.

Seeing that both of our ride armours had gotten too damaged for us to continue the ride armour duel, we decided to leave our ride armours.  
"I suppose this is a draw." Gungaroo said. "You've gotten stronger."  
"People grow stronger. I'm sure you have, too." I replied, trying to encourage him a bit more.  
"Then let's see who's stronger." Gungaroo taunted, with a smirk on his face.  
"No matter what happens after this, you'll always be my friend." I gently stated.  
"Shut up." Gungaroo chuckled, his voice a bit hushed. "One of us isn't coming out of here alive."  
"I'll make sure you stay." I said, drawing one of my guns, indicating that I'll be getting his DNA data at the end. "But it's for later." I continued, de-manifesting it.  
"So, no guns?" Gungaroo questioned, wanting to be sure if it's the rule for the second phase.  
"Nope." I replied as I readied my fighting stance. "Hands and feet, and that's it."  
"You're a dum-dum, but I'm not complaining." Gungaroo teased as he readied his own fighting stance.

Maybe some things never change. Even after 10 years of life experience, I do stupid shit sometimes, too. Although I can guarantee that leaving Gungaroo was one of the dumbest shit I've ever done. Fortunately, Tonion was there to mediate us. I told him all about it after I got promoted before Gungaroo did, when I was declared head of Red Alert's assassins. Not a General, but equal.  
Gungaroo was still upset over what I had done to him. Even though I had apologized and decided to reform our friendship, he was still angry over the years we spent as enemies. And because he wanted to beat me up after the bullshit I put him through, we had that duel. One rule we had in place: No dirty-fighting.  
And then we all know how it turned out. His victory over me was what got him promoted to General. I didn't get demoted—my abilities are my abilities are my abilities, and they were already recognized. But when he defeated me, his was recognized.

After that first duel, Gungaroo was kind enough to offer me a rematch "someday", and we started helping each other out in areas we lack. He helped me with melee combat, and I helped him with guns. We put off the duel for about 4 years because we were too busy fighting with each other as organization-mates rather than thinking about fighting against each other. And here we are now.

Again, Gungaroo threw the first punch, and I dodged it by rolling to his direction. I immediately followed it by a handstand-spinning kick, and it hit his head, breaking one of his ears off.  
"Slippery fish." Gungaroo hissed at me, half-teasing.  
"Don't call me a fish." I chuckled low.  
"FISH!" Gungaroo yelled as he turned around, about to karate-chop my head. I decided to dodge it by backflipping, hoping to hit his hand or something.

…

…

…

Oh. My. God. That fucking hurt.  
Somebody landed a hit. It was Gungaroo. His karate chop landed on my crotch, and my crotch armour cracked. I guess he did hit my head…my other head.

"AAAAAARGH, FUUUCK!" I shrieked after I fell on my back in the middle of my backflipping. "My masculinity!"

As I convulsed in the fetal position clutching my crotch and squeezing my eyes shut, I could hear Zero howling in laughter, and X snorting, holding in his own. Much closer to me, I could hear Gungaroo laughing like "Ooooh hooh hooh, oh my god."

"Talk about karma, huh, Axl?" Zero hollered from above.  
"Shut the fuck up!" I yelled, my yelling muffled because of my position.  
"Holy mackerel, you actually hit friggin' Zero over THERE?" Gungaroo questioned.  
"Oh, shit." Zero cursed lowly, because he let the cat out of the bag.  
X shrieked laughing when Gungaroo figured it out, for a few seconds, before declaring. "Yes, he did!"  
X continued to shriek laughing as Zero teasingly shoved him away as "punishment" for letting it out. Gungaroo just struggled to keep his mouth shut and his laughter in, as I got up while giggling lowly.

"I hope you get a girlfriend. A very good girlfriend." Gungaroo wished.  
"Thanks, Gungaroo, but first, I'll have to get my dick fixed." I replied.

We backed away, and Gungaroo bounced off the arena's barrier and executed his Triangle Kick—a flying kick that comes after bouncing off a wall-like surface. It came quick, but I barely dodged it. Just as he landed, I decided to punch him on the side of his head. It hit, cracking the side of his helmet and damaging his eye. He tried to punch back, but I side-stepped, dodging it successfully. I followed it with a roundhouse kick, which he dodged by ducking. He was about to punch my crotch again, with a shit-eating grin on his face, but I kicked him with my other leg, and it hit his chin, launching him upwards, and his back hit the arena barrier.

Gungaroo coughed. "I can only bust a man's balls once, eh?"  
Oh, you. I just chuckled. For some reason, what he said was pretty cute.  
"Fish." Gungaroo teasingly remarked again.  
"Fish don't have legs." I countered.  
"You don't watch enough documentaries." he argued back.  
"But walking fish have fins, not actual legs." I teased back. Well, it's true. There are walking fish. They just don't have legs.  
"Doesn't matter. Fish." Gungaroo insisted, chuckling.  
"If you like fish so much, you should've married Warfly." I wanted to have the last word, so I teased again.  
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW! GROSS!" Gungaroo screamed.

Gungaroo dashed towards me to punch the living shit out of me, and I dodged again by somersaulting, landing behind him. He may be smaller than me, but I'm the more agile one, since I'm more used to performing all sorts of acrobatics to dodge and attack. It helps, because I was always more flexible.  
Afterwards, I interlaced my fingers tightly, and slammed both of my hands down his head like a hammer. It cracked his head badly, and he screamed before falling to the ground.

"I can't feel my legs anymore…" he said as he coughed. "I guess you win this time."  
I struggled to smile, biting my lip to prevent myself from crying in front of him. It hurts to see him like that, and it hurts even more to know that I was the one who caused it, even though both of us know that he's going to have to die anyways, because of the Professor's virus.  
"It doesn't feel good, though." I replied. Even though, in normal circumstances, I would have been more satisfied and I would have said something to express it, this isn't the least bit satisfying.  
"I don't feel good either." Gungaroo chuckled. "Neither of us wanted a duel to the death, but hey, sometimes we can't have what we want."  
"So this is it?" I questioned.  
"Yeah, this is it. But it's alright for me. It ended well enough." Gungaroo answered as he got up, propping himself on his hands. "I chose this. Kind of, but you get what I mean, don't you?"  
"Yeah." I replied, taking out my gun and setting it to load the Copy Shot.  
"We'll always be together that way, right?" Gungaroo questioned, looking at the gun I pointed at his head, his gaze unfocused. My blow must have affected his ability to see.  
"Yeah."

After I said that, I fired. As if feeling his ghost fill my DNA library, I felt his DNA data being transferred to my library via the Copy Shot, as Gungaroo's body fell to the ground. But this time, he's not getting up again.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** A lot has happened to me since I posted the last chapter. First one I'm telling you is, I think I'm stopping the 7k views celebration here. One person participated and I'm thankful for that, but I've asked her to take it down, and thankfully, she did. I think if I'm to engage the FFN community, I shouldn't have used this way.  
Anyways, second thing is that...well, how can I say it? It's mostly a chain of things related to job-searching. I've been hit with stress over that these days, so I have been writing stories I only show to certain people. But now I've got to stop moping around. Also because writing is supposed to be stress relief, not another stressor. That's why I decided to stop thinking that "PMGR is heavy" and continue it._


	37. Chapter 29: REPAIR

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 29: Repair**

"Hey."

X's voice was the first thing I heard when I regained consciousness in a capsule, in the R&D room. Hearing him, I opened my eyes to see both him and Zero looking at me from outside the capsule.

"How are you feeling?" X asked again.  
"I don't know." I mumbled. "I feel like my brain's scattered all over the place."  
"Do you need to talk?" Zero offered. "We're right here."  
"I suppose a talk will help." I huffed out as the capsule cover opened.

I feel a bit dazed…as soon as I got back from the mission, I got myself fixed. Sure, nothing's life-threatening. But I…I didn't remember feeling fully conscious. Like, I was able to walk to the R&D room, but I didn't think about anything. Now that I recall, I was feeling too sad to think about anything in the first place.

I sat up with a huff, and immediately hugged my knees afterwards.  
"Axl…" X softly called out to me. "I'm sorry."  
"I…it's alright, I mean…ah, what am I saying? I feel I was torn apart. Just as I thought that everything's going to be easier from this point on…" I replied, ranting. "But then again, easier doesn't mean easy. Killing your own family members is never easy." I continued.

"Would telling us more about Gungaroo help?" Zero suggested.  
"I suppose so." I sighed. "He was a great person. One of my first friends in Red Alert. Back then, we were the only 'kids', so to speak." I started explaining, and paused to give X and Zero a bit of time to recognize the topic change.  
"And then?" X said, indicating that he had listened.  
"Because of that, a lot of Red Alert members teased us. Gungaroo shrugged it off, because before I was there, he's already gone through that. He knew already, that they…how do I say it? They didn't mean any harm. They just thought we were cute or something.  
But I was a stupid kid. I didn't listen. I was sensitive, I got hurt. He told me that they weren't trying to put us down, they're just…playing, or something like that. But even though it was true, I didn't believe him…" I ranted.

"Axl! It's alright! You didn't have to get angry…" Gungaroo had tried to assure me. It was my first year in Red Alert then.  
"What do you mean, I can't get angry? They're calling us 'teeny tiny kids', and they giggle at us all the time!" I yelled at him.  
"They're not trying to insult us! Trust me, I've been through that before!" Gungaroo tried to calm me down.  
"What about Warfly? What about him and his 'stinking brat worth jack shit' insults, hmm?" I growled.  
"He's…I don't know what's wrong with him, but the others…they're definitely not like that!" Gungaroo had explained.

"Oh yes, they're definitely like that." I denied, coldness and hostility audible in my speech. Gungaroo flinched and leaned back, not used to hearing me talk like that to him. "I keep fighting, I keep trying to show Red Alert I'm not just some kid Red picked up. I won't accept anyone speaking to me like that."  
"Axl, you're taking this way too seriously." Gungaroo stated.  
"Why shouldn't I?" I argued.  
"Because…just look at you! I know you're trying to make a name for yourself, assure us you're worth keeping. But still, the last thing Red Alert would do is hurt or belittle one of its own!" Gungaroo explained.  
"Then what are they doing? What was Warfly doing?" I insisted on denying him.  
"Warfly's a jerk, we can agree on that. But the others…they're not trying to put you down!" Gungaroo assured.  
"Maybe because you won't stand up for yourself, while I will?" I insulted him, and he gasped.

He froze for a while, speechless. And then, I spun my ankle and left him.

"After a particularly bad fight, we never talked anymore for like, one or two years." I continued to explain as the memory of that fight replayed in my brain, as I held back my sobbing. It hurt, remembering how I hurt him, how I shouldn't have said those painful, horrible things to him, while he really was just trying to get me to grow up.  
"And then, one of the Generals, Tornado Tonion…he slowly brought us back together. It took a few more years…he tried so hard." I continued, sobbing at the end.  
"Thanks to him, though, we were friends again. But Gungaroo was still rightfully angry at me. He wanted to beat me up, but he wouldn't feel good beating me up if I was just standing there, taking his blows. I didn't like that idea either. So we had a duel."

I remember the end of that duel. No matter how I shot him, no matter how often he fell, he dodged a lot of my shots. I kept backing away every time he got too close for comfort, but I didn't pay attention to what's behind me. When I tried to back away at some point, my heel hit the wall, and when Gungaroo saw his chance, he leaped at me and kicked me.  
That was the end. That kick was hard enough to knock me over, and I dropped my guns. I struggled to get him off me, to get free. But he was much stronger than me, and beat me to a pulp. My original black-and-white armour was destroyed beyond repair as a result, and that's how I got my current navy-and-red armour, which Anteator had made based on the data he retrieved on me.

"He won. It was justice." I sniffled, wiping a few teardrops. "After that, he said that while he's not angry at me anymore and that we can rebuild our friendship, he said that we should have a rematch someday, when we've gotten stronger from our rebuilt friendship. It took four more years until we actually have that rematch…which just happened."

I paused for a while and sobbed softly just to let X and Zero digest the whole thing. I kept wiping my eyes, so I couldn't see them. I don't…I don't want to look them in the eye like this, though. Even though I'm crying over something worth crying over, I look disgraceful like this. I don't want to see their faces as they gaze upon me in this state.

"It's okay, Axl." I heard X's gentle voice close to me.  
"It should be." I sobbed. "But somehow I feel it's not okay."  
X didn't answer, and I felt him slowly pulling me into a hug. I immediately hugged back. It feels good having someone to cling to when you're crying, and I can trust X now, for those needs.

"He died on his own terms. He accepted it." X assured me.  
"I know. I know he's okay with it. It's just that…I feel so stupid. I wish…we spent more years as friends. I wish we did more things together. If I had known that it would end…like this, I would've done different things. But…why? Why did I take him for granted? I know it's because I was…I was a stupid kid. But still, I…I should've cherished him better." I ranted as I sobbed.

Out of all the Generals, except for Warfly, Gungaroo's the only one I had undeservedly hurt really badly. Even I've had a few fights with Boarski, but never like that. Gungaroo was so nice to me, but I treated him like shit. I know I didn't know better and even he forgave me for it after beating me up, but no matter how badly I get beaten up, I can never forgive myself for hurting him like that.

X was silent for a while as I buried my face into his shoulder, as he stroked my back.

"He forgave you in the end, and you've become a better person, right?" X finally replied, questioning. I just nodded in response.  
"None of us can turn back time, Axl, as much as we want to. We do our best every day. Even if it might not be enough sometimes, it's good enough that we do our best every day." X continued. "You did your best then, and you do your best now. That much hasn't changed, but it doesn't have to change."  
"Did I take him for granted, X?" I questioned. He hasn't answered that, and honestly, I really want it answered. I really want to believe that what X said was true. But for some reason, I…I can't.  
"Did you?" X asked back. "I don't know all the details. But I know that you honoured the promise you made for a re-duel for so long, even in these circumstances, even knowing that the Professor might have taken over him at any time. From that, I know you cherish him."

That's true…and after he offered me to learn martial arts from him, I didn't just sit down and take what he gave me. I gave back. I taught him how to aim, how to use guns. After we rebuilt our friendship, we were so happy together. We started talking a lot again. We sparred a lot. We criticised each other a lot on our weak points, so that we could improve until our re-duel. I still wish that we didn't spend so long being enemies, but X was right. I can't turn back time no matter how much I want to.

"Thanks, X." I thanked X as my body relaxed, and I closed my eyes as I gently breathed. "It's a shame that it ended up this way, but this is the best possible ending, isn't it?" I continued.  
X nodded. "You have his DNA data with you, right? He'll always be with you that way." he echoed the sentiment I shared with Gungaroo back there.  
I nodded back.  
"Want to try out what he's given you, Axl?" Zero offered. "Doug and Gate are on break right now, but they said that if you want to try it out, Alia's here, with Doug's new assistant. She could use the training."  
"Alia? I thought she's just a navigator at this point…" I questioned.  
"She's actually a great mechanic. She was Gate's research partner until she branched out." X replied.  
"Alright then. Sounds great." I replied as I let go of the hug, X letting go after me.

We left the capsule room to see Alia and her new assistant—a reploid in green with yellow and pink pigtail-like head accessories.

"Up already?" Alia asked with a smile. "Are you trying out Gungaroo's DNA data?"  
"Yeah. 100% charged." I replied, smiling back. "And…what's her name?" I asked, turning to the reploid in green armour.  
"My name's Pallette. I'm a new mechanic, training under Douglas. Well, I haven't been involved in the actual putting-things-together practice just yet. So for now I'm just going to set up the targets under Alia's supervision while Doug and Gate's away." Pallette introduced herself. "And your name's Axl?"  
"Yeah." I replied, nodding as I took out both of my guns.  
"You should transform the gun first, so we know what kind of target we're using." Alia suggested.

Loading Gungaroo's DNA data into the guns, they combined into a large bazooka, and the computer informed me that it's called the "G-Launcher". Fitting, really. It's most likely short for "Gungaroo-Launcher", which is cool. Unfortunately, it's hard to aim with.

"Holy mother of god." Pallette remarked. "I've never seen a gun that big."  
Zero snorted and coughed. And coughed. And coughed some more. And snorted even more. And then he howled laughing again, like "OOOOOHH HOH HOH HOH HOH HOH! OOOOHHH HOH HOH HOH HOH HOH!"  
Zero, I know you were, and still are satisfied when you saw Gungaroo karate-chopping my dick after I kicked yours. But please. Later.

"OOOOWWW FUCK!" Zero yelled when X tugged—pulled his hair down, hard, to the point that Zero's head leaned back. Well, that stopped his laughing. And started mine. Ohh, that was glorious.  
"Zero! No cussing in front of kids!" Alia scolded.  
"That's right! Keep your potty mouth away from Pallette!" X added.  
"I'm not a kid!" Pallette scolded back.  
"You're still young." Alia insisted.  
"Douglas says those too…" Pallette muttered, and Alia went silent.

"I'm going to kick his ass." Alia growled.  
"You can do that for me later." Pallette giggled lowly as she set up the targets.

The targets that appeared were big, fitting for a…a big gun. Because it hasn't been fired, it was fully charged. When I held the gun up to aim, everyone backed away and stood a few distances behind me.  
I did my best to aim for the bull's-eye, and fired. It took almost all of my energy to keep myself from leaning back from the recoil, and I stood my ground. When I looked at the target after the blast cleared up, it was no more. That one shot completely obliterated it.

"Wow." X remarked. "Hey, Axl, can I try it out?" he requested.  
"Sure, why not?" I accepted, handing over the G-Launcher to him gently. It's a big gun, after all.  
Pallette heard me and set up another target before anyone asked her. X aimed too as he tried to hold it properly. I corrected his grip a few times as he stood.  
"Okay, all good." I said, giving him a signal to fire, and I stood back with the others.

He fired, and while the target was hit, X was launched backwards by the recoil with the gun in his arms, and his ass hit the ground just in front of Zero's feet.

And then, Zero shrieked laughing again.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** For people who are concerned about it, yes, Axl was indeed mean to Gungaroo when he was young and immature, and I made it so on purpose. Like, even the best people have sinned. I know that even though Axl's a protagonist and he's my fave out of the big three, in the end he's just a person like all of us. _

_I know we've done undeserved, horrible things to people we shouldn't have hurt. I want to point that out, show that good people make mistakes. Sometimes, big mistakes. So it's OK to make mistakes, because it's, for a lack of a better term, "only human"._

 _We look up to a few characters. We decided that we want to be like them. But sometimes, we hold ourselves to unreasonably high standards, because protagonists tend to be portrayed as pure; people who disagree with them are wrong, and will be proven wrong. They never actually be jerks to people-anyone offended by them are just horrible people who just don't understand their kind intentions._

 _But this isn't how life works. Everyone makes mistakes. Even good people. Heck, especially good people. Sometimes, it's through experiences with horrible people, even if we're the horrible ones, that make us good, because we know what is good and what is bad, that way._

 _As an aside, Axl's black-and-white armour set is available to be viewed on my dA. It makes him look like a panda. ;v; so cuuuuute..._  
 _Anyways, my deviantART is Shinryuu-Uroborus, and the picture can be found in my gallery as "Axl's starting armour"._


	38. Chapter 30: RELIVE

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 30: Relive**

"Hey, Big Bro!"

Wait, what? Aren't all my brothers…dead? Why is he calling out to me?  
And why is this place so bright?

Oh, right. We were assigned to guard one of Red Alert's warehouses. Since X's retirement, we rose to prominence because we were one of the biggest mercenary groups. Because mavericks, infected or criminal, running rampant, is bad for business, we decided to go vigilante. Infected mavericks will infect everybody, including Red Alert members and some of our robotic clients. Criminal mavericks will just direct unwanted attention to the criminal underworld. So we decided to be "vigilante maverick hunters", so to speak.

And that was why the Hunters wanted us dead.  
I don't understand—aren't we helping them? Even if we don't intend to help them, we're making their job easier after X retired, and Zero was left alone to fend off threats only he and X can take on. Maybe because we're not acting under the government's orders, we're mavericks? Or is it because of our past crimes and that our vigilante-ing and rise made us a bigger target because we've been able to avoid the government's clutches and they never liked it?  
Either way, it doesn't matter. What matters now is that we have this important warehouse full of resources—mainly spare parts for repairing purposes. Even Anteator, the best engineer in Red Alert, needs parts to patch us up. If this warehouse goes boom, then we're fucked.

Suddenly, I can't see anymore. Black. There was a sound. I don't know how to describe it, but it sounds like a soft boom. Either way, the power was cut. Some of my brothers gasped in surprise. I have night vision built into my eyes, and it was a relief to see their outlines.

Wait. Wait, wait, wait, why did he fall down with a scream?  
I can't see whatever just killed him with this night vision. I swear, it was the best equipment we bought! The best merchant in the crime world, Skyline, sold it to us, and I got this installed stat, as soon as we had it in our hands! How is it possible that someone, somewhere, has got cloaking equipment that can top these? And how did this person kill a hardened assassin so quickly? And which sick fuck would rip his head off his neck like that? Judging from the messy mark of the outline of his severed head, it's not sliced off with a sword, more like some messed-up animal attack.

Oh god, there it goes again! I couldn't track the attacker, god dammit! If only I could see better, he wouldn't…oh god, his head was just crushed…now nobody can ever fix him again! I'm going to find the sick fuck who did this, and make them suffer!

I really want to spray bullets aimlessly around the room just to hit them, but I don't want to hit my brothers in the process! But then again, if they got hit once in a not-so-vital spot, they'll be fine…and I can alert the attacker to my location. That's right! I'll be bait so the rest of them can live! My brothers haven't been attacking, as far as I can see…they're still scared and uncertain over where the killer is, and they're afraid of hitting their own allies as I am. But I hope they can forgive me…because if I hit the killer, they'll make me their first priority, and I'll surely kill the bastard.

I took out both of my guns, and aimed at shoulder-point. If I aim at the legs, then if I hit my own brothers, they won't be able to run. Even if I hit their arm, at least they can run, escape to live another day. After I aimed at the right height, I stretched my arms as wide as I could, and squeezed the triggers before walking in a very small circle, spraying bullets everywhere.

As soon as I did that, I heard a few grunts from my brothers, male or female—we always had a running joke of how Red Alert Assassins are some sort of brotherhood, so we always refer to members, male or female or otherwise, as brothers—as well as a squeak. None of my brothers would make that kind of noise, a cross between a girl's scream and a mouse's squeak. At most, we would grunt. Making loud noises isn't stealthy. I had caught the killer. Now it's just a matter of defeating her when I get to her.

I watched as the killer mercilessly killed my brothers as she advanced towards me in a path I can't see. Heads were crushed, some ripped off necks. One of my particularly unlucky brother got her head ripped into two from the top. And she didn't stop there. I kept shooting to the direction of my massacred brothers, hoping to hit her. She figured it out quickly and took one of the decapitated bodies, and used it as a goddamn reploid shield! And when she's reached a living brother, she'd toss the body-shield away to kill them!

I gritted my teeth. I'm bait. I'm attacking, they're not. At least fight honourably, god dammit! I'm attacking you, they're not. Spare them! Or are you so heartless? Then it's my duty to end you!

Suddenly, the body-shield she was grabbing moved closer to me, to my direction. It was only a matter of time before the body was thrown sideways. That's it, it's time. Time to kill her in one shot. Quickly, I transformed the gun into the G-Launcher. It should hit if she's casting off the shield to start killing. But I won't die. I swear, I won't die to someone like you.

…

…

…

It hurts. Everything's black now, I can't even see the outlines of my dead brothers anymore. I feel something digging into the back of my head, from the front—from the eye sockets. It hurts, it hurts so bad, I can't see…I can't even feel my arms anymore…

"AAAAAAAARGH!"

Oh god, did I…I scream? It hurts…whatever was burrowing into my eyes had pulled off really quickly, really violently. Everything's black, I can't see…did she just gouge my eyes out?

"Big Bro! Noooo!"  
"God damn you! Let him go!"

I'm such a hopeless "Big Brother"…I wanted to save you all, but here you are yelling at the killer to let me go…

…

…

…

Everything is so grey and empty.  
Well, just about right…this is my cell room, isn't it? I can see…I can see! Thank goodness. I can see. I can fucking see. I am on my bed, inside a jail cell in Maverick Hunters HQ.  
Here I am, a hopeless "Big Brother", whose "little brothers" died, all of them, because he couldn't do jack shit to protect them.

Half of my unit died that day. Anteator told me everything. The surviving brothers had contacted Red for backup. Red came as fast as he could, and was having problems seeing the bitch that shed so much of our blood. All he could make out was a silhouette, and that's it. As soon as Red came, she teleported away, probably because there was no way she could go up against him.  
When Red brought me to Anteator, my eyes were badly gouged—the holes were so big that the bone between my eyes was savaged as well, and both of my arms had been pulled off. Anteator spent hours installing new nerves and eyes for me, and re-attaching my arms.  
Half of my unit survived to hug me and tell me they were so happy I survived, before crying over the brothers Anteator couldn't save. But now, none of them are alive to wake up at this moment, all because of me. They had to sacrifice themselves so that I could make my escape…

I can't waste their sacrifice. It's now 7 AM…and since the special weapons are finished, me, X and Zero are going to go up against Stonekong today. Another General, another friend that I can't save. Why is it always this way? Why am I left all alone now? Why am I watching everyone I know and love die? Is it karma? Is it because of the innocents I killed because I was paid to do it?

Maybe. Most likely. What else? I killed people. No matter who they were and why my clients wanted them dead, I still killed people who, in a moral point of view, shouldn't have been killed.  
Cheating spouses, business rivals, estranged family members…in the end, thinking back on it, they really didn't deserve to die.  
This is it. This is my punishment. Even though it wasn't me who paid someone to get them killed, it was me who pulled the trigger. Just like the loved ones of the people I had killed, whom I had hurt, I am being forced to watch as the people I know and love drop dead one by one, being tortured by someone too powerful for me to reach.  
I have inflicted this kind of grief, and it is only justice that I shoulder all of it.

Everything's my fault…

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I wrote because I couldn't sleep. I sprinkled in a few references that only  Hannaji will understand. But even if you don't, it's alright. It's spoilerific anyways, so it's better that you don't understand until it's time. I did, though, reference Skyrim's Dark Brotherhood. I love that game. Can't wait to try out the Bean Chili mod so I can thu'um-fart at dragons._


	39. Chapter 31: LOG

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 31: Log**

"Axl? What's wrong?"

X spoke to me as me and Zero walked along the forest pathway. Stonekong's men had painted the trees with directional arrows to guide us to where Stonekong was waiting.

"What do you mean, what's wrong?" I replied to X.  
"You don't look so well." X answered.

That's true…that nightmare did deal quite a blow to my psyche. I didn't feel well-rested when I woke up. Not even the shower afterwards helped. But still, I can't complain or whine. Not when we have something more important to be concerned about.

"Ah, it's nothing. I had a nightmare." I explained.  
"Really, Axl?" X pressed, his eyebrows slightly raised, with puppy eyes on his face.  
"Yeah, it really is just a nightmare." I insisted.  
"But you look very upset." X tried to get me to 'fess up a little more.  
"Who isn't upset at all this?" I answered, laughing mirthlessly after that sentence. "I've helped kill six of my family members. Now it's the seventh time. You'd think I would be used to it by now, but for some reason…I don't know how to say it. It gets easier, but it also gets harder."  
X looked away for a second before patting my shoulder. "It's okay, Axl. We're here." he assured.  
"Dumbasses gotta look out for each other." Zero chimed in, muttering.

Thanks, guys. It did help. Well, there's still this part where I'm still down about receiving the bad karma I had inflicted on people. But that's for…never. Not later. Never.

We arrived in front of a tall, wide tower. From the ground, I can see Stonekong sitting on top of the tower. When he heard our footsteps, he moved closer to the edge of the tower closest to us, and bowed his head to acknowledge our presence. He held out his left hand, gesturing to our right. We looked to the direction he was gesturing at—there was a ladder.

After we climbed up the ladder, the three of us faced Stonekong. But before we fight…

"Stonekong." I spoke to him. "Long time no see…"  
Stonekong nodded. "Indeed. It's been very long. It's a shame that this has to be the last time."  
"Hey…before we fight, can we talk a little bit? Just a few minutes or something…" I wanted to hold the conversation for a little while. It's going to be the last time, so…  
"I don't mind. It's hard on all of us, but especially you. Everyone's probably said this already, but I'm still sorry you have to go through all this." Stonekong replied.

Funny, isn't it? Just as I was moping around over having to watch everybody die, here he is…it's like he's a psychic who knows what to say to make me feel better. Even if it's for a minute before everything starts hurting again.

"It's alright…but can you tell me more about this Professor?" I requested.  
That thought came out of the blue, but for some reason I need to ask him. None of us—me, X, Zero, know about the Professor. All we knew so far is, thanks to Crowrang, that his weakness is Splash Laser. But still, maybe Stonekong's sensed things we haven't…  
"He's a large, nasty stain." Stonekong sighed. "I never understood why Red let him in, until I found out what happened when Anteator gave me the codes."  
"Then why didn't you say something?" I questioned. "The Professor's a horrible person who forced us to disobey our own codes of honour, but why?"

Stonekong, Crowrang and Anteator are his primary advisors. If they say something is wrong, then something is really wrong. But while I was still in Red Alert, when the Professor was there, none of them said anything. It's possible that they were being mind-controlled all the while, like in that discussion we had if the Professor was worth keeping or not. But still…

"After I scanned my memories after I got Anteator's codes, I saw that I wasn't possessed anymore after that discussion. Back then, I was so confused as to why Red let the Professor stay. I couldn't recall any discussions, but when we saw the documentation of the discussion, that we had all agreed to let the Professor stay, I just decided to believe on what we had agreed on." Stonekong explained.

"What about that day, Stonekong?" I questioned him, trembling slightly. "When…when Red and I, since we weren't in as much pain as you guys, we were sent to assault and pillage a research facility full of innocents?"

"It tore me apart as much as it did you." Stonekong answered. "The reason why I stayed in Red Alert was because of its loyalty to its codes. And said codes, and Red, who created them, are worth pledging loyalty to. When it was broken, so was I."

"Sorry to intrude, but…can you tell us a bit more about what was going on with this Professor?" Zero chimed in. "What had he done? As far as I know he was messing around with the virus, and it got a lot of Red Alert members infected, though not all."

"It started from the infection and snowballed from there." Stonekong huffed out. "At first, he just requested a special room for his laboratory and used up a lot of our funds. It was a bit disturbing, but we went through with it. And then after holing himself in there for a few weeks, he called us in, saying that he had finished a few upgrades for us." he explained.  
"Knowing that he had finally produced something after sucking up a lot of resources for so long, we went to him, and he installed the upgrades. It was great at first. We enjoyed heightened combat capabilities. The doubt I, and presumably everyone else had for him disappeared."

I remember that time. The Generals, Red, and I queued outside of the small-ish laboratory we had reserved for the Professor. It wasn't actually small; it's just that it won't fit the ten of us. Among the ten, I was the only one incompatible with the "upgrade" he had made for me.

"Since Axl was the only one incompatible with what the Professor had made for us, he spent the rest of his time in Red Alert, until Axl's escape, to build one for him. It seemed kind of him at first, but at the same time, it felt wrong, how he was so insistent on doing it. But we went and allowed him to continue anyways, because of the results he had given to the rest of us." Stonekong continued. "And then he started forcing us to attack innocents."

Zero gritted his teeth and clenched his fists hard. X hung his head low. After looking at their reactions to what had happened, I just…I can't face them. I looked away. That's it, they know I'm really a murderer now. It's not that they don't know already, but still…

"All of a sudden, our upgrades actually started to harm us and the Professor forbid its removal. When Anteator tried behind his back, he got electrocuted by the components. The Professor said that he urgently needs some materials from a certain research laboratory. We tried buying it from them, but they refused.  
The Professor insisted on those materials anyways, and that there's no other material that can help him fix those upgrades. Red and Axl, the only ones still able to fight among the Red Alert top…" Stonekong trailed off, and stopped to look at me.

"We…we killed all of them." I confessed, gritting my teeth afterwards, holding back even more tears. It hurts, I feel like I'm being torn apart, confessing to my heroes that I was a murderer, even if it's to save the people close to me.  
I don't mind being the biggest sinner in the world to keep my loved ones happy. It's confessing it that's the problem.  
"That was what drew the line for me." I continued, trying to shift things a little bit. I don't want X and Zero to return to HQ telling themselves, "Axl's a murderer". Even if Signas had confirmed that the Hunters need me, I still don't want X and Zero to hate me. "That was why I planned my escape. Red Alert had broken its own codes of honour. We killed innocents. That…that's not what I signed up for." I explained.

"And the rest, presumably you know. That's about all that I can say. I was never allowed in his laboratory after he installed those upgrades. He would periodically ask Axl to enter, though." Stonekong spoke again.

X sighed. "All of you are good people. I'm sorry that this Professor had to manipulate you like this. Before I knew about what the Professor had done to you, I wondered why you didn't just escape like Axl, or destroy him altogether, but…"  
"Even if we weren't infected, I would still stay with Red Alert." Stonekong insisted. "Even if it's doomed, I'd gladly die with it."  
"I never understood that, but it's your choice, and I can't argue about that one." I chuckled bitterly. Stonekong always disagreed with Crowrang and me about that matter. We've agreed to disagree—Crowrang and I, we believe that there's no use staying inside a burning home, no matter how many good memories were associated with it, no matter how precious it was before it burned. Stonekong, on the other hand…

"I had pledged my loyalty to Red Alert—and I had become one with it. That was what I had decided for myself." Stonekong continued. "So let's not delay what we met here for." he said, drawing his sword and readying his shield.

"Guess this is it…Stonekong, thanks for everything." I replied, and Stonekong nodded to indicate that he had heard me.

I took out my guns and transformed them into the G-Launcher. Zero drew his sword, and X set his buster to load Explosion, turning his blue armour pink.

The first thing Stonekong did when he saw that we were ready was to slam his stone sword down. The G-Launcher is so heavy—I can't dodge even if I wanted to. As I heard Zero and X stepping away to dodge, the only thing I can do was fire the Explosion at the sword.

"Axl!" Zero yelled out as he saw me firing at the sword, standing there with the heavy G-Launcher.

I was just as worried about myself as he was, too, but when the explosion cleared up, I saw that Stonekong's sword had been destroyed. He saw it as well, and tossed it aside.

Being close to a melee fighter is a gunner's nightmare. As much as I want to use Explosion or the G-Launcher, it really affects my agility. I quickly reverted my guns to its original form, and leaped backwards, landing just beside X and Zero.

"I had a heart attack." Zero grumbled.  
"Sorry." I sheepishly apologized.  
"Never mind that, now what are we going to do?" X asked as he watched Stonekong advancing closer towards us, quickly.  
"This, maybe?" Zero half-muttered, swishing his sword downwards, firing a huge burst of energy—Hadangeki. The narrow top-of-the-tower arena and Stonekong's heavy build made it impossible to dodge the Hadangeki, so his only choice was to use his heavy Gaea shield to block it. It was successfully blocked, but not without severely damaging the shield.

"Even without his sword, you don't wanna get close to Stonekong. He can squish us." I warned.  
"Explosion is short-ranged for the both of us, so I suppose we'll need to rely on Zero, or my charge shots." X sighed, unloading Gungaroo's data, his armour returning to its blue colour.

Stonekong said nothing, and threw his Gaea Shield like a fucking Frisbee! I was able to dodge it by hovering, and Zero by double-jumping, but X…he wasn't so lucky. He tried jumping up, but the shield hit his ankle, and he hit the ground screaming.

"Oh, god, I can't stand!" he cried out as he dragged himself on the floor.  
"X!" Zero yelled. "God damn!"  
"I'll cover him." I offered, looking at the Gaea Shield which had fallen close to X's feet, before stepping towards him. It was damaged by Zero's Hadangeki, but I can still extract DNA data out of it, so I did. After that, I hauled the thing and dropped it down the tower so that Stonekong can't use it as a projectile anymore. I then transformed my guns into the G-Launcher. Sure, agility is good when all you need to protect is yourself. But right now, I need to stand by X's side.  
"I'm sorry, Axl." X whispered.  
"It's alright." I muttered, glancing at him. There's a faint light coming from his buster—he's charging.  
"I don't want to be useless anymore." X continued, still whispering.  
I just nodded. For some reason, what he said digs deep into my heart. Maybe because it reminds me of how I used to be—my past self.

Left without a sword or shield, Stonekong is still a deadly enemy. The narrow space, that got narrower as Stonekong advanced on us, was advantageous to him because he can hit us more easily. Just as Zero was about to swing his sword downwards to fire Hadangeki, Stonekong swung his fist downwards as well, and Zero had to drop his saber with a gasp before catching Stonekong's fist, struggling to lift it up.

"Axl! Do what you did with Crowrang last time!" Zero called out to me while avoiding mentioning what exactly he wanted me to do, to prevent Stonekong from knowing our next strategy.

I nodded, placed the G-Launcher on the ground and scrambled to pick up Zero's saber, and it synchronised with me, just like last time. Stonekong lifted up his fist to get it out of Zero's grasp, and lifted it up with his other fist—intending to pummel Zero with both fists—before sending both fists to the ground. All of this happened in seconds before it was interrupted by a blast.

By the time the explosion had cleared up, Stonekong had lost a few of his fingers.

"That was close." X huffed out, his buster still fixed on Stonekong's fists.  
Yeah, X. That really was close. That was awesome. I flashed him a thumbs-up, and Zero did so at the same time as me.

"I'll haul the potato sack." Zero stated, half-teasing as he stepped towards X to pick him up.  
"Lard bag." X grumbled, teasing Zero back for calling him a potato sack.

With Zero's saber in my hand, there's only one thing left to do. I swung the Z-saber downwards, and Stonekong tried to block it with his arms. But the Hadangeki cut through his arms, and then, through his head. I stepped back as Stonekong's body tumbled to the ground, his electronic brain destroyed.

Seven down, one more left to go.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I had to improvise a lot on Stonekong's fight, since a lot of his in-game fight involves him running around and summoning rocks, and it's...not very epic. He does use the Gaea shield as a projectile, but not like a Frisbee. It just...floats around, and it's kind of funny. So I can't incorporate it in that way._


	40. Chapter 32: ROOT

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 32: Root**

After the mission report, we helped X to go to the R&D room, because when Stonekong flung the Gaea Shield and it hit his ankle, the shield actually broke it, so he couldn't even limp if he wanted to.

When Douglas carted X away and Gate helped out as he was waiting for the R&D retrieval team to carry Stonekong's remains for special weapons purposes, we left. Of course, I'm heading back to the jail cell where I'm sleeping.

But why is Zero following me?

Looking back at him, I spoke up. "So where are you off to now, Zero?" I asked.  
Zero went silent.  
"Not training or anything?" I asked more.  
"Not yet…the special weapons aren't ready yet. The materials aren't even with Gate right now." Zero answered.  
"I don't remember, but is your room this way?" I asked again.  
"No, but your room's this way, right?" Zero questioned.  
"I don't need to be escorted, Zero. You don't need to trouble yourself." I assured him.  
"No. I just want to talk." Zero finally 'fessed up.

I just smirked slightly sadly. "Why, is it because you can't talk to X?" I remarked, with a bit of bitterness in my words.  
"Even if X isn't being repaired, I'd still talk to you." Zero insisted, sighing. "You…ever since this morning, you're not feeling very good, aren't you?" he asked.  
"You don't have to trouble yourself." I replied. If he doesn't want to, then what's the point of him forcing himself?  
"Dumbasses gotta look out for each other." Zero argued. I swear, it's like it's his catch phrase or something.  
"Alright, Zero." I chuckled. "You win."

Zero followed me to my room, and we sat down on my makeshift bed to talk.  
"So, anything you want to tell me about Stonekong, if it helps?" Zero offered.

It does sound good…but right now I have so many thoughts. Memories of him flood my head in a disorganized manner. Stonekong is generally a quiet person, but he does a lot of little gestures. Sometimes I help him plant a few flowerpots, and on quieter days he'd leave the Crimson Palace to give those away to people. Sometimes Boarski helped out because he loved giving those away to children, also because he can transport them quickly, and little kids find his ability to become a motorcycle really cool.  
Of course, that's also not including how he saved my psyche by telling me the full truth behind the reason why Warfly hated me. If he didn't tell me, I would've hated me as much as Warfly did, too.  
Right now, when it comes to Stonekong, I just want to remember him on my own.

"No…not Stonekong for now, Zero." I chuckled—half bitter, half warm and fuzzy. "I just want to remember him alone for now."  
"Then…what about that nightmare you told X about earlier this morning?" Zero inquired. "You weren't frowny before you went to bed last night, but this morning you looked like poorly-made coffee."

I snorted at his analogy. It was funny and adorable at the same time. Well, I guess it would help for me to tell him. The asshole who killed half my unit was most likely sent by the Hunters. I…it does sound a bit dangerous to talk about it, but for some reason I have a feeling that I can't keep this down. Besides, that analogy is "payment" enough for me to start talking.

"Alright, Zee…anyways, it's just one of the nightmares I've been getting these days. Flashback nightmares, if you will. It was…when I was assigned to guard a warehouse full of resources." I started speaking. "It was when X was still retired, and I was still in Red Alert. All of a sudden, the power was cut, and someone started killing off my squad one by one. It was really cruel…I remember the assassin was a girl, from the voice. She even used the bodies of my fallen brothers as shields…!"

Zero flinched and leaned backwards. I'm not sure what he's thinking right now. Probably a mixture of many horrible things…

"And then?" Zero asked, his eyes wide.

"And then when I tried to lure her, she did fall for it. But she ended up gouging my eyes out and then I couldn't feel my arms anymore. And that's when I woke up this morning." I continued to explain. "The nightmare was really scary, but what really got me was the realization that what I'm going through—watching everyone I love die one by one, is just karma. I told you about the shit I used to do, didn't I?" I chuckled at the end to mask my urge to just sob. It hurt remembering those feelings again.

Zero sighed. "Even if it is, Axl, you're planning on joining the Hunters because you want to do good next time, right? With the same abilities? So if you make it through this, things will get better. Alright?"  
"Yeah, Zero, thanks…" I replied, smiling, feeling a bit better.  
Zero's right. I can start spreading happiness once I join the Hunters. Sure, it won't be happiness for the mavericks I'll be killing, but at least I'll be defending society. But that's not the only thing that the nightmare made me realize…  
"But there's still one other thing, Zero. We…the Maverick Hunters and Red Alert. We used to be real enemies, right? Before both organizations agreed to put down Red Alert for everyone's best?" I asked.  
"Well…yeah…" Zero replied, raising his eyebrows slightly, like he feels bad about the topic being brought up.  
"I realized that I…I might've been hurting and killing a few hunters, too." I continued as I remembered the very first time I got into HQ.

"Hey, is that the bastard that was responsible for today's shitstorm?"  
"That big fucking thing killed my friend! He should die, too!"

Two hunters had verbally assaulted me after Mega Scorpio wreaked havoc that day. I'm sure that many other hunters have had the same sentiments for a good reason; they're just keeping their mouths shut.

"It was war, Axl." Zero huffed out. "You've killed our guys, we've killed your guys. As much as I hate to put it in this way, it's only natural. No need to get personal about it."

I bit my lip. So I can't even "get personal" when half of my unit was killed and desecrated by a single assassin? True, since I'll be working with the Hunters after this is all over, the Hunters wouldn't want a past incident affect future relations with co-workers. But still…

"But can you at least tell me more about…that warehouse attack?" I asked, my voice a bit small. I don't mind not knowing who killed half my unit that day. I just need to know the truth from their side.  
"Well, alright…but you have to promise me you won't fly into a rage." Zero requested.  
I swallowed. Well, I can promise him that. But it's like he can read me—but then again, it's predictable that hearing the truth behind a horrible assault from the ones that ordered it would provoke such a reaction.  
"I promise." I responded.

"Shortly after X's retirement, you guys decided to pop your heads out and stopped being hard-to-reach, right? That's when we formed the Red Alert Extermination project, and along with it, the Red Alert Extermination squad. Of course, I'm not allowed to name names, aside from the obvious fact that it was Commander Signas who ordered and authorized the project. I wasn't part of the squad since I had…more duties, in a greater scope. But I still hear of the operations when it was still there." Zero started explaining.  
So the Hunters, when they saw the chance, instantly formed a squad to exterminate Red Alert? It's unsettling, but also kind of interesting…  
"We had a whole bunch of strategies. That warehouse attack was one of them. It was a failed mission because Red arrived before we could destroy any of the resources inside it. But we did have strategies to help us with it. A little spoiler for you…do you know Skyline? You do, don't you?" Zero continued, asking me at the end.

Well, who doesn't know Skyline? A mysterious, resourceful individual who has access to all the good stuff. All this time, they were, as far as I know, the criminal underworld's double agent who spies on the government for us. Don't tell me…

I nodded to respond, and then Zero told me the truth. "Skyline was actually part of the Hunters. I can't drop their real identity, of course. But Skyline's not your guy, as they would like you to believe, but ours."

No wonder the night vision equipment didn't help me against the assassin that day. It was deliberate, wasn't it?

"It's no wonder…" I cackled bitterly. "Red Alert bought some night vision equipment from them shortly after X's retirement. Skyline offered them to us with a great price, telling us it's a great chance to overthrow the Maverick Hunters. But on the day of the assault, I couldn't see the assassin with it…" I explained.  
"That was the plan." Zero huffed out. "The guy assigned on that mission was wearing a certain cloaking device. The night vision equipment Skyline had sold you was designed to, say, whitelist that one cloaking device out of detection."

"She ripped my brothers apart limb from limb." I hissed. "But it's just…it's your mission, wasn't it? You were just trying to protect society. From us. From me."  
"And you were just trying to protect your own livelihood. We're protecting precious things either way." Zero argued back.  
"Will you guys accept me, a murderer, as one of your own? Is my livelihood really precious?" I stammered.  
"Commander Signas had accepted you already, and me and X, well, if we don't like you, I wouldn't be here right now." Zero stated.  
"Even if I've killed some maverick hunters?" I pressed again, feeling pain in my chest as I deflected Zero's touching answer—it's not my intention to do so, I just want him to say yes and mean it…  
"I've put it behind me." Zero said, his tone still calm and gentle.  
"Thanks, Zee. I just…I'm sorry for asking this question more than once. I mean…I never signed up to Red Alert to be a murderer. Even though we were mercenaries for hire, in the end I can't…I can't kill innocent people, Zero. Not without breaking my soul. So I…" I confessed.  
"So you belong here, Axl. And don't let anyone else tell you otherwise." Zero assured.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This chapter, like Chapter 30, contains references that only  Hannaji knows. But even if you don't know the reference, you'll understand everything written here anyways._


	41. Bonus Chapter 7: RUN

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Bonus Chapter 7: Run**

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _The second bonus chapter in Zero's perspective. This is another, smaller milestone—previously, PMGR had reached (over) 7,000 views. Now it's reached the 7_ _th_ _bonus chapter, and it's only 2 months away from its first anniversary. It's been so long. Thanks for sticking with me from the beginning._

* * *

After the talk with Axl, I left his room to check on X. After what he told me, I doubt I can sleep well before I fill my mind with more positive things. Being a Hunter is hard like this—even if we're a government task force committed to protecting society from, for lack of a better term, its own garbage, we're still killing people.

The one who killed half of Axl's squad is an SA-class hunter—someone respected among our ranks, and she got all that respect by killing mavericks as brutally as possible to scare people from being criminals. The Hunters value you based on how good you are at killing people, most of the time.  
This whole thing reminds me of the Repliforce incident—killing good people who just happened to be sentenced to death by society. It tore my heart apart. How many good people have I killed? Sometimes I think, what if one day, even the humans will consider us hunters garbage too? What am I going to do? Kill everyone to survive, or just go along with it?

Ach, never mind. Right now, I just want to talk to X. I'm so grateful for him and his willingness to be the garbage bin of my negativity. He's more of a thinker than I am; I think it's rubbing off on me. Either way, whether he deals with this shit 24/7 or not, I can't hate him for retiring.

Finally arriving in front of the R&D room door, I pressed the doorbell, and waited for an answer.  
"Yes, Zero?"  
Wait, it's Alia?  
"Alia? Where are Douglas and Gate?" I asked.  
"I kicked Doug's ass." Alia teased. "Just kidding, I just chewed him out. They're training Pallette, and I'm just here to watch over X. He's just woken up. Are you looking for him?"  
"Yeah." I answered. Well, thanks for giving me all the details I need, Alia.

After that, Alia opened the R&D room door, which revealed X, who had sat up on his capsule, and Alia, who pulled a chair for me to sit in front of him.

"Hey, Zee." X greeted me, lifting an arm.  
"Feeling better?" I asked him.  
"It was a quick patch job. What's up?" X replied.  
"I need to talk, that's all." I sighed.  
"Well, I'll leave you boys to it. I gotta make sure Doug doesn't cuss in front of Pallette again." Alia chimed in.  
"I think it's a bit too late for that…" I muttered. She's learned the words already…  
"I can't make her unlearn the fuckshits, but I can tell her that it's not something you sling around like nothing." Alia insisted.  
"Come again?" X questioned.  
"Huh?" Alia blurted out.  
"Repeat what you said again." X requested.  
"I can't make her unlearn the fuckshits, but I can tell her that it's…not…" Alia did what X said, and trailed off at the end when she figured out his intention and caught sight of him grinning like a jack-o-lantern.

When Alia went silent a few seconds later, X just giggled at her and she went red with embarrassment. I want to laugh at her too, but it's better if it's just X laughing at her. It's his joke, so the laughs are all his to harvest.

"Yes, mom." Alia groaned with a crooked, twitchy grin before leaving the room, waving at us.

It's nice to be like this again—X lightening everybody's moods. It was hard on us when he was retired and all stressed. He spent a lot of time reading studies and writing essays of his own. It wasn't something he's used to, and none of us could teach him since the Maverick Hunters are a bunch of fighters. Some of us may have academic skills—such as Alia and Gate, both of them researchers. But with the rising crime rate, none of us have time to teach him those. So he was stumbling around alone.  
I feel a bit bad for him since he's gone back to this shitty work, but I can't argue against this mood.

"So, what is it, Zee?" X spoke up. He had stopped laughing when the door had closed behind Alia.  
"I…I talked to Axl. Again. And I got him to spill the beans on the nightmare he wouldn't tell you this morning." I gave him a synopsis.  
"And? What is it, Zee?" X asked again, leaning forwards, interested in hearing the information he couldn't scrounge out.  
"Well…how do I say it? It was a nightmare of something that's happened. And it's our fault. The Hunters." I sighed, explaining my core concerns first. "We had a mission back then, to sabotage one of Red Alert's major warehouses. Long story short, half of Axl's squad died horribly."  
X shrank and hung his head, letting out a small "Oh…" before looking away.

"What do you say, X?" I asked him.  
I just…I want him to say something positive and mean it. I don't want to mope around for too long. I mean, Axl was right that we were protecting society. But we're protecting an ungrateful and low-key racist society. It's not at all fulfilling…

X sighed. "Well, what did he say about it?" Oh, okay, I didn't expect him to say that.  
"He said that he was afraid of the other hunters hating him, because even though we've killed his guys, he's killed some of our guys, too." I answered.  
"Then what are you afraid of, since he clearly doesn't hate the Hunters for it? Do you feel guilty?" X guessed.  
"Well…yes." I replied. He was right.

"He's forgiven us. I've forgiven him, and so have you. So…why, exactly?" X questioned.  
"Heh heh, thanks, X, but I just…it's just sad how life is this way." I explained. "We're killing people for the good of other people. I wish we didn't have to do this."  
"Took you how long to realize that?" he teased.  
"Oh, shut up." I cackled. It feels good talking to him.

"Anyways, that's why I retired—so one day, no one has to do this, hopefully. But most likely, you know already." he remarked. "After this crisis, I'm planning to get back to being a B-rank so I can research a bit more. In the distant past, there's this treasure trove of data regarding robotic violence—all masterminded by a human. If I can research deeper, and then write a book about it, I can help fight the racism against reploids and make sure criminal mavericks are given as much mercy as human criminals." he explained.  
"I can't research or write worth shit, but I'll be here if you need support." I assured him. I just…I just can't tell anyone that I'm created by THE Dr. Albert Wily, though. His descendant had unearthed his records, revealing a journal filled with mad tirades and an obsession to destroy the world "that loves Light so much". I don't want to be associated with someone like that.

"I also have another concern." X said again, interrupting my thoughts. "I feel like we're going a bit too fast with this operation."  
Um…okay? It's going OK so far. "Why do you say that?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.  
"We're going about this too recklessly. It's not like back then when it's just you and me. We have Axl, so we have to synchronise with him—connect our strengths and weaknesses together. But we don't have enough time to do that. So while I was out, I was thinking…maybe I can get him to use a buster so at least we can sync better?" X hypothesized.  
"But why this, all of a sudden?" I questioned.  
"If it's easier for us to strategize because of more similar fighting styles, maybe we can finish fights more efficiently and minimise injuries." X further explained. "And he can fire a gun almost his own height, so what's the harm?"

…

…

…

"Are you sure about this, X?" Axl asked X when the three of us, along with Alia, had settled in the S-class training room the next morning, with a buster outfitted on his left forearm. We had selected one of the busters in the prop storage that matches Axl's specs, and Alia helped us install it for him.  
Strangely, even though X had hilariously landed on his ass trying to handle the recoil of Axl's bazooka, Axl actually has almost as much brute force capabilities as X.  
"You mean you've never tried firing a buster before?" X questioned, his eyebrows raised.  
Axl shook his head. "No. I always focused on learning gun types." he answered.  
"Well, then, this can be a good time to start." X cheered. "You can try firing a few shots."

Axl slowly, nervously nodded, looking at the target in front of him. He fired a few shots just as instructed, but he recoiled with every normal shot, even after X had taught him how to grasp and aim properly.

"Ow!" Axl blurted out when his left forearm recoiled the fifth time, hitting his helmet lightly. "I don't think it's working, X." he sighed.  
"Strange…but I thought you should be strong enough to fire it." X pondered out loud.  
"I think it has something to do with how you two deal with the recoil." Alia hypothesized. "Because guns and busters are different, you two deal with their recoil forces differently. Neither of you are experienced enough to deal with the other's weapon's recoil properly, so this kind of thing happens." she added before she opened up her tablet.  
"What are you doing?" I asked.  
"Running a few simulations to prove it. It's been confusing me, so I might as well un-confuse all of you." she answered.

Using X, Axl and their weapons' data, Alia ran the first simulation—X firing Axl's bazooka, properly this time. The 3D models show that, in theory, X should be able to fire it properly.  
The second simulation was of Axl trying to fire a charge shot using the buster we had just installed on him. Like the previous simulation, the 3D models show Axl firing the charge shot without any issues.

"Then why did I land on my ass that time?" X questioned.  
"Maybe you're not used to withstanding the recoil force from a gun as opposed to a buster that's attached to your arm." Alia hypothesized.  
"Is a buster supposed to be easier, or something?" Axl questioned, looking at the buster in his forearm.  
"Kind of. I can snatch a gun, but it's harder with a buster." I replied.  
"Can I try out the charge shot?" Axl asked. "I'm kind of curious."

After we're done gathering around Alia and her tablet, Axl stood within firing range again, charging the buster as the three of us watched. After a few seconds, the charge shot left the buster, and hit the target. The target was not the only thing that got hit, however. There was a bang from behind us, and I looked to the back.

Oh my god. So much nostalgia…

"Eheh eheheh, eheh, eheheh…" I chuckled. It's just too hilarious!  
"Hey, X. Just like old times." I whispered to X as I elbowed him.  
"Shut up, Zee." he muttered to me, holding his own laughter.  
"Come on, you know you want to." I tempted him.  
Axl just at us with an unamused, deadpan expression that just screams "Laugh at me, I dare you", before looking behind him—where his whole left arm, shoulder pad and all, had fallen, after it hit the wall.  
Axl, if you do that, you're just going to…

"Hehehe…hehehehehe…huehuehuehuehuehuehuehue!" X bursted out laughing like a hyena. "Your face!"  
Axl frowned huge before he crossed his right arm to his chest—and then, suddenly, he just quickly moved it up to scratch his head. I guess he wanted to fold his arms, but right now he only has one, and didn't realize it at first. You're not helping the situation, you know…  
"Well, all of us thought that the charge shot test was…ahem, harmless." I joked, before smiling so wide, my cheeks kind of hurt.  
Axl's response was to pick up his left arm and hug it protectively like a teddy bear, with the same big frown on his face. It's so funny, it feels like looking at a child who is an asshole!  
"You idiots." Alia grumbled.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Some news for you-first things first, big shout out to  Hannaji-her criticism helped me build the story better and explain my headcanons and thoughts better, and that was how this chapter came to be. Bad news is, the internet at home stopped working, and it's gonna take a few days to fix. Until then, I'll be leeching off school wi-fi and updates will be slower._


	42. Chapter 33: THORNS

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 33: Thorns**

It's been a long struggle, and now we've gotten to the top of the tower to see Tonion. The mechaniloid, apparently, had been programmed to be as ineffectual and docile as possible. The three of us made short work of it. And now, here we are on the top of the old radio tower, with Tonion, who was walking in circles when we got there. It took him a few more seconds of walking in circles before he finally stopped to face us.

"H-hey…Axl, X, Zero…" he stuttered out. His eyes are twitchy—like he's struggling to make his eyes "smile", but there's something preventing it. "H-h-how ya do-o-in'?"

I heaved a huge sigh. The damn Professor sure fucked him up good…thank goodness he's still sane. It's very disheartening to see him like this. He's bright, cheerful, hyperactive…sometimes annoying to others, even me, sometimes. But still, it makes me happy to see him being his usual self, and it's disturbing to see him, like, sick. Or at least, it seems he is…

"That's my line, Tonion. What's happened to you?" I asked. For a second, I tried forcing a sad smile on my face, but I just…I can't. I succeeded for about one second or two before frowning.  
"D-did your…duel with Gun-gungaroo go well?" he asked another question, instead of answering mine. Tonion, I know you're nice and selfless, but that's why people love you and care for you. Please…  
"It did, thank you…" I answered his question anyways. It's hard for me to get mad at him. "But please, Tonion, what's happened to you?"  
"Heh…eheheh, heh…" he let out a strained chuckle before coughing. "Thank goodness…" he continued, before catching his breath. Goddammit, what the hell is up with him?  
"Y-you see, I…I wanted to announce to the world, who this Professor really is…'cause I finally found out, y'know?" he started explaining.

"I…is it Sigma?" X questioned.  
"Sssh, X." Zero shushed X to let Tonion explain more.

"P-problem is…he won't let me speak his real name…" Tonion continued. "I k-k-kept…t-t-trying. H-he can s-still move my mouth. While I w-w-was here, I k-kept in t-touch with the other m-members…they were still…doing w-w-well as if the P-professor was n-never here. W-while I was…w-waiting for you, I kep-kept trying to set-set up broadcasts or c-codes, m-messages, any-anything…to ex-expose the Professor's true i-identity, b-but he prevented me from spe-speaking coherently…every time. S-so I just k-kept broadcasting R-Rick Rolls." he kept speaking, even though he's struggling. Poor Tonion, he must've been most sensitive to those so-called "upgrades"…

"T-turns out…b-by doing all t-that, I…I was…I made sure the Professor fo-focused his m-mind control on me and-and-and…ignoring every-everyone else. I was…keeping everyone else s-s-sane. I wa-was so hap-py, so I just…kept doing it."

What? Tonion? All this time, you've been fighting off the Professor's influence so that he wouldn't take over the Red Alert members?  
God, I feel like an asshole for deciding that he be the last to be retired. He's been waiting for us for about one or two weeks, fighting off his virus alone. Even though there's a good reason to which order, I just…I wish he didn't have to suffer for so long.

"Oh my god…" X blurted out, covering his mouth with both hands, his eyes wide. He looks like he was about to cry.  
"No wonder…I…I kept thinking why the Professor never forcefully controlled the other Red Alert members while we fought. It turns out it's because of you, isn't it?" Zero questioned.

"I…yeah. I-I-I'm so-so proud of it." Tonion beamed, even though his speech and face looks strained from being the "bait".  
Why, Tonion? Why are you too goddamned generous to live in this cruel world? Without anyone even asking you to, you keep helping around base. Hell, you helped me repair my relationship with Gungaroo, and it took you years of near-thankless effort before we had our first duel. You deserve a happy ending, not torture. And yet, you volunteered yourself to be tortured by the Professor, bearing the burdens alone. Why? Why would you do this?  
"You're in pain, Tonion." I stated.  
"I-I know. B-but it makes me h-happy to…make everyone…happy. Heheh." he answered.  
"You know I won't be if you're not." I said, gritting my teeth afterwards.  
"I-I know…bu-but I-I'm going to…hav-have to die real soon anyways." he noted, his eyes "grinning" in a strained manner, as if he's trying to assure me that it's the best possible outcome. Well, he's right…but the best possible outcome is still the best possible outcome out of all the shitty possible outcomes. "L-let's get-get this…over with?" he offered.

Zero nodded and drew his saber, and X hung his head as his buster materialised. I already have my guns in hand.

"O-oh wait!" he cried out, giggling at the end. "So-sorry, I have a few…last words." he sheepishly declared.  
I chuckled. Typical Tonion. He's nice and helpful, but clumsy and a bit forgetful. Sometimes it's annoying, but sometimes it's kind of cute.  
Zero rolled his eyes and X tilted his head, looking at Tonion with curious, childlike eyes.

"F-first of all, I…I'm so s-sorry that Red Al-alert had c-c-caused s-so much t-trouble." he started, turning to X and Zero. "I'm s-sorry that it-it has to end like this." he spoke again before turning to me. "A-Axl…y-you ha-have a nice l-life, yeah? L-Live. Laugh. L-love. And oh, b-be careful of your-your temper. Hehe." he spoke his last words to me.

Live. Laugh. Love. That is his own personal motto, which had rubbed off on me. Tonion is an important person to me—it was him, through his photos and recordings of the outside world, who first showed me that the world isn't so bad after all. In the end, I wanted to see the "surface" for myself. But it was from him that I found out that there's more out there, better than the criminal underworld.

"Then why are you staying in a mercenary group like this, Tonion? We kill people for money. You know that, right?" I asked him, once upon a time.  
"Well, because Red Alert's my family!" he guffawed. "Even in a world like this, where there is next to no order, there are still good things as well. Sometimes, you don't even need to squint to see it."  
"Like?" I asked again.  
"Like you." he answered. "And me. And Red. And…well, and everyone! Hee hee hee!"

It's a bit embarrassing for him to talk about my temper in front of X and Zero, but there really is no room for a private discussion, and those are his last words. Plus, he's right. I don't get angry easily, but I dread the moment I have a rage outburst. It's satisfying at first, but whenever I snap out of it, it hurts me deeply to see the damage I inflicted. Gungaroo was one of my "victims", so to speak, and I wish I didn't put him through that.

"W-we h-have n-no cont-rol any-anymore, so…pl-eeeease, stop us?"  
That was it. That was our cue to start fighting.  
"I'm s-sorry."

"It's not your fault, Tonion." I responded to him, drawing both guns. X readied his buster, but he didn't load the Gaea Shield. That was the deal—after seeing how the Gaea Shield works, it's a shield that deflects attacks, not something you use to attack. After the three of us discussed and actually strategized before the battle, we decided that it's basically useless to attack Tonion with, and that X's buster shots are the best way to defeat Tonion. His firepower is stronger than mine, and none of us dare to attack Tonion, a huge reploids with wind powers, up close. Not even Zero. Hell, especially not Zero. "I don't want those huge hands slapping my ass," he said.

Tonion gave us time to run away before he spun—doing a pirouette, like a ballerina, with the outer plates of his armour surrounding him like floating flower petals. An electric tornado blew around, and above him.

"Holy shit!" Zero blurted out. "I'm using Hieijin."  
X nodded as he charged his buster.  
Meanwhile, I charged my Copy Shot. I don't know if, after the fight, we can use his remains, or he will turn to ashes like Boarski, or if he will be un-recoverable like Anteator or Crowrang. So I have to get his DNA data.

We ran away from the pirouetting Tonion so we don't get hit. Zero fired Hieijin a few times, damaging a few of his outside armour pieces. X and I ran away as we charged our shots. Neither of us want to miss. When he stopped, and the tornado followed, both X and I fired at the same time. X's charge shot destroyed Tonion's light outer armour pieces before hitting the inside of his body, and my Copy Shot hit. Tonion cried in pain and fell.

"G-good job!" he complimented us, giving us a thumbs-up as his light outer armour regenerated.  
It's kind of disturbing, but after seeing him in pain, it's still comforting to see him smile. It still hurts, but even now, he's helping me deal with the heartache.

Then he spun around, stopping at the centre of the radio tower top, and started spinning again while his outer armour pieces floated around, orbiting him like he's a planet and they're his moons. Except we have to dodge them, because even though they're light and kind of fragile, they float at head-level, and I don't want to get clocked by those things.

So I just lay down on my side, transformed my guns into the auto-aiming Double Bullet, and, knowing who I'm up against, I…  
"Draw me like one of your French girls." I chuckled after I struck the pose as the light armour plates harmlessly orbited Tonion above my head, before shooting.  
X coughed and snorted as he lay down on his stomach, and Zero snorted as he lay in the fetal position. Tonion roared in laughter, interrupted by a few "ow"s. A few seconds after I opened fire, X rolled around to a distance far enough from the plates, and then he launched a huge charge shot at Tonion. Tonion screeched in pain and fell backwards, and he got up before returning the light armour plates back to him.

"Al…most…there…!" he cheered, even though his voice is stuttery and crackly. And then, he started coughing, while his light armour plates regenerate again. With the Double Bullet still in my hand, I shot those plates as Tonion arranged it telekinetically, so that they'd float in a way that makes them look like a sword.  
When his "sword" is all arranged, he swiped it sideways. I jumped to dodge it, and when the plates were about to hit Zero and X, Zero swiped his Z-Saber forwards, in one strong motion—performing Gokumonken, the attack he got from Stonekong—destroying the plates that would have hit them if he didn't.

In that split second where Tonion was about to swipe his "sword" again the other way, X completed his charge, and fired at Tonion's open inner area, a third time. The gigantic charge shot hit Tonion, and just as the remaining plates were about to hit him, they clattered to the ground beside his feet as Tonion fell down at the same time.

"Bye…everyone…" he stuttered out, his eyes staring at the orange sunset sky, as he struggled to control his huge arms to wave at us. "The sky…is so pretty…yeah?"

After that, his arms fell to the ground, and Tonion stopped speaking.

* * *

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _This chapter is shorter than the average fight chapter, mostly because Tonion's fight is, like Stonekong's, quite simple. You just have to dodge and shoot. Heck, I don't even need to use Gaea Shield against him. Just use Axl, hold the attack button, and make sure you don't get hit. But unlike Stonekong's, Tonion's fight harder to improvise with. Like, Stonekong can use his sword or throw his shield or punch. But Tonion's not that kind of fighter.  
Anyways, my internet is back, and a lot of things have happened to me since the last chapter. I got an interview, and the same company shortlisted me for a second interview this Sunday. It's a huge relief, and I hope I get the job.  
As an aside, I did wonder why that the other fights progressed relatively smoothly without any sudden occurrences of the Professor/Sigma/Wily hijacking the fight, until I progressed further into the story and found out what really happened._


	43. Chapter 34: STING

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 34: Sting**

I could barely compose myself during the short mission report. Thankfully I don't have to go to the R&D room to be opened up for hours, because honestly, I'd rather cry alone in my room right now. All of the generals are dead. Everyone who had decided to die with Red Alert instead of running away is also dead. Red is literally the only one left, besides me. And even then, it won't be long until I can sorrowfully declare myself as Red Alert's sole survivor.

I wanted to run to my room, but my metal boots would make a lot of noise. A lot of people would stare at me, and right now, that's the last thing I want. I hung my head so that no one can see my face. I just stared at the front for the purpose of knowing where to walk to. I didn't force a smile or feel myself contorting my lips into a frown. Maybe, if I am to look in front of a mirror, I would have a blank, tired expression, like someone who's been locked up in a dark room for days, without sleep or nourishment. But right now, I don't want to see anything besides darkness. I just want to cry myself to sleep.

Never have I ever been so relieved to enter a jail cell, even more than when Zero showed it to me the first time, telling me that I have a place to stay. I opened the door, and the creaking sounded like heaven, and I can't help but smile. Slamming the door would be cathartic—the walk here from the command room felt like it took forever. I just set my brain on autopilot so that I won't constantly whine to myself, "Am I there yet? It feels so far away…" But at the same time, I don't want to slam the door. The sound would irritate my ears. Right now, I prefer silence. I gently, slowly closed the door, before removing my armour and lay down on the jail cell's makeshift bed.

I feel like I'm being literally eaten away from the inside, like there is some kind of worm, or a bunch of hungry maggots nibbling away at me. Finally alone in my safe haven, I let the tears flow out, and sobbed. Gentle sobs weren't enough. The more I sob, the more pain I felt. The sobbing escalated into muffled shrieking as I bury my face into my pillow.

All my friends and family in Red Alert are dead.  
First, it was my unit who sacrificed themselves so that I could escape with minimal intervention, and that's after I failed to save them from the assassin who killed them horribly.  
Warfly was always a jerk to me, but as he was part of the family, I couldn't afford to hate him too much, and I found out too late that he's not as big a jerk as I made him out to be.  
Poor Hyenard completely lost himself. All traces of him were lost—he didn't recognize my face, he tore apart the huge gazelle mechaniloid Anteator gifted to him on his birthday, which he loved so much. He wasn't even sane enough to perform his favourite cloning technique, something he was so happy to finally obtain.  
Boarski wasn't so different from Hyenard. He committed atrocious, brutal murders completely unlike him. He would never break our code of honour, just like the rest of us. But as a result of the Professor's meddling, he did something that he would've deemed unforgiveable if he had stayed sane.  
Anteator may have died a hero, even to the Hunters, for single-handedly reverse-engineering the Professor's virus and distributing it to the other Red Alert members except for Hyenard and Boarski, who were too insane to be restrained, but he experienced torture from the Professor forcing him to overwork his frail body.

Crowrang's heart was torn apart. He and his unit were brave—they tried to assault the Professor to put an early end to this, only to find out the hard way that they couldn't. It broke Crowrang's heart, and mine, to know that the Professor infected Crowrang's remaining unit members to make an example out of them.  
Gungaroo…he died a good enough death. But neither of us wanted it to end. Not like this. We wanted our friendship to continue and flourish to make up for the years we spent being enemies. And yet, he died on the side opposite of mine, and even though it was because we promised to duel each other, I was the one who killed him.  
Stonekong remained loyal to Red Alert and accepted his death. But still, it hurts me. He may have accepted his death, but even though I should accept it as well, because he has, I still can't accept it. Both I and his unit agree that he is a good father figure, and a kind-hearted person.  
And now, Tonion. He had borne the burdens of everyone, making sure that the other fights before his went as smoothly as possible without the Professor hijacking the other generals into a berserk frenzy, and he was in pain the entire time as he felt his bodily functions being restricted by the Professor. At least he was able to see something beautiful before he died…

Red's next. My father figure is next. He's the closest I have to a father, even though he kept denying it.

"Don't call me 'Dad' or 'Papa' or 'Father' or whatever." Red had told me when I asked him if I could call him "Dad". "It…it'll upset the others. Give room for favouritism implications. Besides, I don't deserve it. There's someone out there who is more of a father to you than I am." he continued.  
"But Red, you're…you're the closest person I have to a father. You deserve it." I insisted.  
"Well, so am I to most everyone else in here. And even then, Axl, I'm not your real father." Red argued back. "You can say that I'm the one taking care of you instead of him, which is true. But…someday, you'll understand why I told you all this. Not now, maybe not soon. But someday."

I don't understand what he was talking about. Did he take me away from whoever my real father was? Was it because of a job, or was it because I was abandoned? But either way, it doesn't matter to me. He's THE father figure for me, and thinking of even killing him makes me feel like my eyes are going to melt out of my sockets, because tears alone aren't enough.

I don't want to think about it. But still, I have to do it…like the generals, it's what he would want as well. The Professor had waltzed into Red Alert and taken our agency. Everyone, except for me.  
Why is this happening? What did we do to deserve this? It might just be the Sigma Virus MKII we had stolen from the two reploids who had obtained it—Aluce and Cedar. We studied them before we went after them. Aluce's body, like Anteator's, was old and he was in need of a new body. Cedar was his friend and bodyguard. Both had intended to use the virus to strengthen themselves—Aluce wanted a new body, and Cedar wanted to grow stronger to protect his friend better. And we robbed them of their future.

Is this karma? Is this what we deserve after killing countless innocents, who were sentenced to death by money? Is this what we deserve after robbing so many people of their futures, whether it is a future with a better "them" or a future with their loved ones?  
Even if this is karma, it really hurts to see my family drop down like this. I want to survive. But not like this. But I have to. Hell, I don't want to die before making a positive impact on the world after making my mark of blood, tears, and blood money along with Red Alert. I don't want to declare that I deserve it, even though many signs point to this being the truth. Is this justice? If this is, then I hate it. But I always wanted to fight for justice. To protect what's good in the world. And that's why I'm here, with the Hunters.

I don't understand anymore. I don't want to think about it. I just want to sleep, and I hope I'll feel better the next day…

…

…

…

It's 1 AM. I think we returned to HQ at about 6:30 PM. Mission report was only a few minutes, and, give or take, it took me maybe 30 minutes to get back to my room. I don't remember when I fell asleep, drowning in negative thoughts. Right now I feel…blank, which is good.

I don't know how else to describe it. It's like time is moving very slowly, and you're in a safe place. I want to roll around, snuggled on bed and sleep a little more. Escape from the gaping jaws of reality, which will chew me up soon, when I go to…

No, I don't…I don't want to think about it. If I stay here alone, I'll start thinking…and then it'll go into a spiral of…no, no, no. I don't even want to mention it right now. I feel so sleepy, but I'm not tired and I can't sleep. I have to go out. Look at things. Maybe talk to someone.

Heaving a huge sigh as I transformed into my armour, I got off the bed. Oh, wait, I haven't showered…  
I transformed out of my armour and walked to the bathroom. I took a quick shower so I don't get shower thoughts. I need a new atmosphere. But at the same time, I can't walk too far away. I don't want to get lost, return to my room late, sleep late, wake up late and embarrass myself in front of Zero, X, and possibly everyone else as well.  
After I finished showering, dried my hair and put on my armour again, I left the jail cell.

Even at 1 AM, the Hunters corridors are still very well-lit. Most likely, it's to accommodate the hunters who have shifts at night. It feels…blank, but peaceful, to, for once, act on purely my own will, as opposed to because of duty or something. I haven't decided to enjoy free time for some time now. It's been so long.

As I walked around the corridors, a few people glanced at me for a few seconds. Well, it's fine. At least I'm not being stared at. Wait.  
It's this person again; the black-haired reploid in heavy black armour. It took me some time to recognize them, but I remember this reploid as the one who stared at me for 10 seconds until I glared at them. I want to say that this reploid is a girl, but after knowing Zero, it's kind of hard to tell, honestly. And I used to be mistaken as a girl multiple times before I started putting my hair into a ponytail.  
Instead of glancing at me like everyone else, even as they walked, they kept staring at me.

"Hey." I called out, and they flinched—almost jumped. It's a bit confusing. A heavily-armoured reploid who seems to be a brawler, flinching just by being called out?  
They didn't say anything, and just turned at me and gingerly tilted their head, their widened eyes fixed at me, like they're scared of what I might do next.  
"Why are you staring?" I asked. My voice was a bit low, but not too low—they look…scared. As confusing as it is, they do look scared. "It's not polite, you know."  
"Sorry…" the reploid apologized and looked away, the voice giving away that she's a girl. "I just…I'm not used to seeing you around here. And I'm a bit tired after night patrol." she continued, strangely sounding like she's intimidated.

Well, I don't know if she's lying and that she secretly hates me for being a Red Alert mem—well, former member. There's no way of finding out now, and I honestly don't want to start a fight. She doesn't look like she's intent on starting one, either. Judging from her almost-all-black-and-dark-blue appearance, I doubt she was lying about night patrol, either.

I heaved a sigh. "Well, just don't do it again." I reprimanded.  
She nodded, and apologized again. "Okay. I'm sorry…" she said, bowing her head down a little bit before scurrying away.

Well, that was a mood killer…maybe. It was annoying to be stared at by the same person a second time like she has a grudge against me, but at least I get to talk to someone else. It wasn't a fulfilling interaction, though.  
Speaking of which, I wonder if I can find Zero. He's most likely asleep in his room, but I still want to know how he's doing. Besides, didn't he tell me he'd tell me "his side of the story"? Why he doesn't like his job in the Hunters? He's known the reason why I want this job, but he hasn't told me the reason why he doesn't want his. As a great, dedicated long-time maverick hunter, I'm really curious as to why he hates his job.

I slowly made my way to the R&D room. Zero wasn't injured, but I'd still like to ask Gate, Douglas or Pallette if they know where he might be. As soon as I arrived in front of the door, I pressed the doorbell.

"Oh, Axl!" Douglas greeted me. "What's up, at this hour?"  
"Sorry, Douglas." I responded sheepishly. I hope I didn't disturb his rest or something. "Have you seen Zero?" I asked.  
"Zero, huh…I came across him when I was out to get some food about, say, 30 minutes ago. I asked him what the hell he's doing snacking at this time of hour, and he just said he needs to cool down a bit. Maybe you can search the balcony on the upper floors?" Douglas suggested.  
O-oh. Well, as much as I don't want to get lost, I don't feel like asking him to escort me there and trouble him at 1:20 AM…  
"Oh, yeah, you probably haven't even used the elevators. I'll take you there, we'll look for him." Douglas offered.  
"Really, Doug?" I chuckled, filled to the brim with relief. "Thanks."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** A breather chapter. Scenes have been flowing to my head like water, I just haven't had the mental capacity to write or draw these days because of job-searching related stress and anxiety. I want to write them out, but I have to connect the scenes together first. Also, Moonchan/ Hannaji, you'll recognize that cameo...if I can call it a cameo, that is._


	44. Chapter 35: STARS

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 35: Stars**

Douglas left the R&D room, leaving his work in progress—the special weapons from Tonion's data—for a while to take me to the elevators, then escort me to the balcony.

"Are you sure I'm not troubling you, Douglas?" I asked him. I don't want him to get into trouble because of me.  
"Nah, it's fine. It's just a few minutes." he assured me. Well, then, I'll remember that.

The moment we got into the elevator, Douglas looked through the buttons and immediately decided to go to the highest floor.  
"Zero likes high views." he remarked to me as the elevator moved up. "What about you?" he spoke again, trying to initiate small talk.  
"Same." I replied. "I can hover, so I'm used to it."  
I kind of want to ask him how much Zero eats, but it's probing into other people's privacy, as curious as I am. I know reploids don't gain weight from food, but I'm still kind of curious.

It wasn't long until the elevator arrived with a ding and an announcement of which storey it was. Douglas walked to get to the balcony, and I followed him like a duckling. When we arrived there, we saw Zero, unarmoured, in just a T-shirt and baggy pants, his blond hair blowing away in the wind.

"Hey, Zero!" Douglas called out to him.  
"What is it, Doug?" Zero replied, looking back at us. "Oh, Axl?"  
"He's looking for you." Douglas stated, patting my shoulder.  
"Oh, okay then." Zero responded, smiling a small smile.  
"Thanks, Doug." I thanked him for his effort.  
"No problem." Douglas said, before waving as he turned around to leave.

"So, what is it?" Zero asked me as he turned to face me, a ziploc bag of assorted fritters in his hand. "Want some?" he offered.  
"No, thanks, Zee." I refused gently. "I just…I need to talk."  
"Always welcome, Axl." Zero responded, smiling slightly wider than the previous one. "I do need someone to talk to, too."  
"What about X?" I asked. X is his best friend. Surely he can fulfil those needs better than me?  
"He shut himself away in his room, and he hasn't left it for a while. Either he needs alone time, or he fell asleep. Either way, I don't feel like bugging him right now." Zero answered.  
"I see…" I responded, looking away for a second. Poor X is hit as hard as I am…  
"Anyways, what is it you'd like to talk about?" Zero asked me.

I swallowed. I wanted to ask him why he hates his job as a hunter, but right now he's mentally tired himself. Both of us came here to get the negatives out and feel better, not to drown in them again. As curious as I am, I don't want to hurt him and make his own horrible memories resurface. But what do I answer? I…I don't have any other possible topics in mind.

"Do you want to tell me about Tonion?" he asked me when he saw me blanking.  
"N-no." I answered. Right now, remembering him will hurt me too much to compose myself properly.  
"Maybe…about Red?" he tried to guess.  
"No." I answered, feeling the awkwardness creeping in. Damn, I must look like an idiot in front of him…but I don't want to hurt him.  
"You just need someone to talk to?" Zero gently guessed again.  
I nodded, but I didn't say anything. I do have a topic in mind that I'm hiding from him, but it's for our own good. God, I feel so horrible.

"Well, it's alright." Zero replied with a smile, patting my shoulder. "I'm pretty sure you need a distraction, too. I bet…you feel bad. Oh yeah, I should tell you about my side of the story. I said it, didn't I?"

Holy shit, did I jinx it?

"Really, Zee? You won't feel hurt or anything?" I questioned.  
"Well, it's hard to remember it again, but at the same time it feels kind of refreshing to tell someone else, even if it does bring back bad memories. But right now, it kind of feels like a distant dream, err…nightmare." Zero explained.  
"Are you sure it's okay?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows. I refused to talk to him about this for good reason. I don't want him to open up an old wound and get hurt because of me.  
"There's nothing else to talk about…besides, I just…I just want you to know that the Hunters and Red Alert, we're not as different as you think." Zero assured.  
Well, okay then, if that's your choice.

We sat down together in there, and Zero opened his Ziploc bag, took out a fritter and took a bite out of it. After he chewed and swallowed, he started speaking.  
"You know the Repliforce crisis?" he questioned.  
I nodded. To all reploids, it was one of the most world-changing, deplorable happenings ever. Red never really talked about his past, and I only found out that he used to fight with Repliforce against the Hunters before forming Red Alert from Anteator. And it was for a good reason, too…  
"I know. It was betrayal." I spoke.  
"Yeah. At first, Sigma framed Repliforce, made them look like a bunch of villains who'd blow up Sky Lagoon for nothing. But Repliforce knew they wouldn't do that, so they disarmed." Zero explained.  
"And then, Repliforce and the Hunters teamed up to investigate the real mastermind behind the Sky Lagoon incident…and, well, we found that it was Sigma. We defeated him, but then he said that his death was only the beginning. We came back, and reported it…but then…" Zero continued, and trailed off at the end.

Everybody knew what happened next. As a result of the Sky Lagoon incident, the public panicked. It was probably a snowball of the previous three crises, including the Abel City crisis. Because of this, the humans decided to reduce the numbers of reploids, starting from retiring Repliforce.

"I know, Zee." I replied, because I know it was hard on Zero. He probably didn't want to say it.  
"I know you know. I mean, everybody does, alright? You know those bare bones. But…the Repliforce's Colonel. We fought together, I was so happy. I felt…I felt like a hero. But then, the whole of Repliforce was marked for death. I was as disgusted as they were, but after that…you know. Repliforce decided to rebel. They wanted to commit genocide, create a reploids-only world. I was shocked, you know?" Zero said, almost sobbing. "Even the Colonel's younger sister, Iris, was as shocked as I was. She does want a safe haven for reploids as much as Repliforce does, but…she doesn't want to achieve it through genocide. So she defected to the Hunters. Long story short, I had to kill my good friend, and Iris had to help me kill her brother. It hurt both of us really badly." Zero confessed.

Oh my god. Like Zero said—I know the bare bones. The humans had become racist after several crises happening, killing many innocents. It was all because of Sigma, but the fear took over, and eventually reploidkind became more and more hated. I know that the Hunters were "defending people against genocidal, traitorous reploids", but Red always hated the way everyone else described the later part of the Repliforce crisis.  
I guess I know why now. I guess I understand more about what Zero and Red were talking about.

"H-how is…Iris? How is she doing?" I asked. Deep in my heart, I hope she survived to turn a new leaf.  
"She's doing well. She's just keeping a low profile to keep herself safe from racists. She still stays in the Hunters as a non-combatant. Not a navigator, though." Zero answered, smiling. I smiled back. It's good to know that I've made him remember something he likes to remember. "Anyways…what do you think?" Zero asked back.  
"Well…actually, a lot of things make sense now." I replied. "Red was a mercenary working under Repliforce when they were fighting the Hunters. I think I understand why he sided with them. Like, he was a mercenary, but he actually fought for free. Anteator told me that. And then, you…everything you told me about becoming a Hunter makes sense now."  
"I know, right?" Zero chuckled. "I don't think I've seen Red before, but either way, yeah. You're fighting for a racist society that sees you as not much more than just tools." he explained himself, sighing at the end. "Pay's good, colleagues are good. It's just that my heart's not in it. But your heart's in it, right?"  
I nodded. "Yeah, it is." I affirmed. "Racist or no, I just…I see wonderful things in this world. Even though there are horrible things and horrible people in there, it doesn't mean that this world is a living hell. I saw precious people, precious lives. People who do their best to improve their lives. Just seeing them makes me happy. I feel that…I feel that I have to protect them." I explained, sobbing at the end.

I remember a lot of things whenever I go out. Parents and children. Couples. Friends. Every single person I see is someone with stories. They're people with hearts, their own points of view, their own experience. Every single person, human or reploid, are unique. A combination of personalities, expertise and experience which make up a person. All of us are unique, and all of us, in the greater scheme of things, are only numbers; specks of dust in a massive planet. And even then, the Earth is a tiny speck of dust in this massive universe.  
But even if we're tinier than a speck of dust, we're all filled with so much worth. Each and every single one of us. Even if no individual can feel and convey everyone's worth, it's still there. This world is precious, flawed as it is, and it must be protected. That's what I believe in. There may be horrible people in this world, but there are still people and stories and lives that I want to protect. And that is why I fight.

"Really?" Zero replied, chuckling a bit at the end.  
"Yeah. That's what I'm fighting for." I responded, chuckling back to suppress my sobbing, wiping a stray teardrop off my face, hoping Zero doesn't see it.  
"Hehe. That's good for you." Zero giggled. "Well, at least you've found an answer…you and X are really similar, except that it's what he's not fighting for." he remarked. "I just…I haven't found mine."  
I sighed. Most likely, his answer was the same as mine and X's, but it was distorted when the humans turn on him. I can't blame him…I was a brooding world-hater when I found out how racist the humans were against us, too.

"You'll find it, Zero. It'll come in time."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Yes, I retconned MMX4, mainly because Repliforce using pride as an excuse not to disarm was too stupid. Some people had reasonably explained that their refusal to disarm might be for fear that they'll be unable to fight back if they were falsely accused even after their surrender and marked for death anyways, but I decided to respectfully disagree with that argument. To get themselves out of a sticky situation such as being falsely accused, people would tell every truth and expose everything necessary, even their genitals.  
also moonchan/Hannaji, madoka axl/madokami lambda._

 _Anyways, all this time I had been writing to hide enough of my timeline-specific headcanons because I want a "pure" X7, also to accommodate the majority of MMX fans, but this is where I draw the line. Like, I may not liberally sprinkle references (I did it once-I revised the chapter because it came out shitty because of my liberal sprinkling), but when I need to tell, I'll tell. But still, I'll do it reasonably. PMGR is a retelling of X7 regardless, and I want to share it with you. Even though I'm writing for myself, and it's a selfish endeavour from the beginning._

 _But I still have to say that, I'm sorry, but I'm not accepting any idea suggestions. I've gotten a lot of my mechanics and story elements nailed, and I don't want to feel like I "stole" an idea from someone else's review. I also don't want to have to dish out the bad news that is rejection, because some people don't take them well and I don't want to be in the line of fire. I wrote PMGR because I want to write my own story. I want to write a story I'd love to read, and that's the reason that I write. I'm happy that you love my stories and you want to be part of it, but I've got my own story to write, and this is it...along with all the other stories I've written._


	45. Chapter 36: MOLTING

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 36: Molting**

The time is now 10 AM.

I slept well after my talk with Zero. After that little breather, I am now ready…well, closer to ready to accept the fact that I have to kill Red. And that's exactly why we're here now, in the command room, strategizing.

"So we're going to the Crimson Palace and…clear it?" Alia started the discussion, trying to avoid saying "killing everyone inside".  
Signas said nothing, nodding with an "mm-hmm" at first. "So, who are the only ones left?" he questioned.  
"We've killed everyone." I stated, not using euphemisms at all—"escaping" would only distance me from the reality that I have to face very soon. Hearing what I said, everyone flinched—they were probably not expecting it. Well, I have to deal with it. "So the only one left is Red…and that professor." I continued, struggling to add "that goddamn professor" in an official discussion.  
"So, we've established that the Professor's weakness is Splash Laser…so today, Douglas will have to program Warfly's data into X." Alia noted. "But what about Red?" she asked.  
"Red is weak to Gungaroo's data." I answered.

"So…this is it? We're just going to confirm their weaknesses, or are there more to talk about?" Zero questioned.  
"As far as I know, the only thing we have to do is to kill everyone in Crimson Palace. It's kind of simple." I answered.  
"Oh, almost forgot." X chimed in. "I'm going to…"

X stood up from his chair. Still clad in the Maverick Hunters' off-armour uniform, he looks like the odd one out among all of us—we're all wearing armour, except for him. I guess he has a reason why.  
The four of us watched as his figure is enveloped by light. He's transforming.

Holy shit, I've never seen this armour before. And judging from everyone's shocked look and them leaning away in surprise, they weren't expecting this, either.

It was a colourful set of armour—the helmet is adorned with sharp yellow protrusions, and the edges of the shoulder pads are also sharp and yellow. The armour is also overally blue, white, green and yellow, with bits of red here and there.  
The shape of X's head crystal resembles the one on his original helmet, but less curvy and closer to blocky, making him look more like a mecha.  
The buster, unlike his simple, single red-barrelled buster, was a three-barrelled buster, each barrel green, and not as big as his normal buster—but they're three, not one.  
Unlike his simple, non-threatening-looking blue armour that can pass for "civilian armour", this armour makes him look like a warrior ready to spill blood.

I looked at X's armour, and then at everyone else's faces. At that moment, I saw Zero smirking.  
"Finally decided to use it?" Zero teased.  
"I don't want to risk anything." X answered, snorting softly and smiling afterwards.  
"What…what's that armour?" I stuttered out, asking. It seems that I'm the only one who doesn't know about it.  
"The Glide Armour." X replied. "My creator left this for me, shortly before I retired. It's the first armour I received after helping the Hunters rebuild the world after Eurasia. He told me, 'Good old X, take this armour. This is what it can do…' something like that. And then he said, 'But remember, it must only be used for good!'" he explained. "I just…hahah, I guess you could say that I…thought long and hard about his words, but, anyways, it's not the place for that." X continued, speaking noticeably faster, before slowing down when he said that it's not the place to explain his own personal crisis.

"Well, at least you've found an answer…you and X are really similar, except that it's what he's not fighting for."  
Zero had told me that last night. I wonder if I can talk to him about it?

X transformed back into his uniform before sitting down on his chair.  
"So, that's all from me—is there really anything else? I don't think that the final battle will be so simple." he questioned.  
"You're right that it won't be so simple—we'll have to walk through the Palace Road first. Red Alert always placed a signal jammer so that outsiders can't teleport somewhere inside the palace. There's a guard mechaniloid outside, Mole Bore. But since we have Tonion's data, it shouldn't be so hard to dispose of it." I explained.  
Alia sighed. "Well, you should've told us from the beginning. That's one thing we have to take account of." she reprimanded, with a smile on her face. Well, yeah, she's right…and it's kind of embarrassing. I guess the stress did get to me, as much as I thought it's not getting to me…  
"Right, I'm sorry." I apologized, sheepishly grinning a bit, so as not to worsen the mood.

"Oh, speaking of signal jammers. Alia, we have never been able to locate the Crimson Palace. Now we have to find out where to teleport." Signas noted.  
"I'll check the closest teleport location. Axl, do you remember the coordinates of Crimson Palace?" Alia replied, before asking me.  
I shook my head and answered. "No. No one's ever told me. The only ones who knew of it are Red, Anteator and Crowrang. I do know the way to get there, though."  
"Do you know where the signal jammers are? Can you show other people how to get there?" Alia asked again.  
"Yeah, I do." I answered again, nodding. "Why, you want me to destroy it?"  
"Not alone, that is. But for now, let's see if we need to go that far." Alia replied, before going over to the computer.

As she started typing, the huge monitor in the command room lit up, displaying the map and various "points"…coloured dots in the map, presumably their "bookmarks" or something like that.  
"Incoming transmission from new point. Point ID: "RD18-66"." the computer voice announced, as soon as everything in the monitor has been fully-loaded.  
"What on Earth…?" Alia questioned, before zooming in on that part of the map.

Wait. What…?

"That's the Crimson Palace…!" I exclaimed.

So Red's thinking the same too, huh? "Let's get it over with?" I guess he's just as broken as I am. God damn, somehow thinking that someone's sharing my burden just tears me apart. I guess I just don't like knowing that Red's feeling pain, too. Maybe somewhere inside me, I was hoping that he's dealing with it better than me, but then again he's alone, looking as his life's work was destroyed, for good reason.

I guess both of us are in this together…at least, until I kick his bucket. Both of us are watching as everyone we loved was killed for their own, and everyone else's good. Both of us are watching as our home was desecrated by someone too powerful for us to face alone. Both of us are watching as our family disappear, unable to do anything about it.

"This makes everything easier." Signas remarked.  
"It's as if they want us to find it…" Alia added.  
Zero heaved a huge sigh. "There's only one logical conclusion to this." he concluded.  
"Are we all thinking the same thing, now?" X questioned, biting his lip afterwards. "To just…hurry up and get this over with?"  
I nodded. But still, we can't get reckless.  
"Technically, we can just go there and teleport. But we must not rush too much, as much as everyone wants to get this over with. I don't want anyone getting into danger." Signas stated.  
Funny…isn't the Hunters an organization that deals with danger? But then again, if it's dangerous even to the people who work with danger in the first place, it's something. I should know, I've killed maverick hunters before…

"So, what are we going to do now?" Zero asked.  
"Well, first, Douglas is going to have to program Warfly's, Hyenard's, and Boarski's data into X. Shouldn't take very long. But we also have to send in drones to navigate around the place. Like what the Commander said, we can't recklessly dive into danger." Alia explained. "As for you three…well, you're free to prepare yourself for tomorrow's final battle, physically and mentally."  
"So is that it?" Signas asked, looking around at me, X, and Zero, and all of us answered "No."  
"Alright, since there's nothing more to discuss, then you're all dismissed. Have a good day." Signas declared.  
I saluted—just like what I used to do in Red Alert, Zero nodded, and X bowed, and then the three of us got off our chairs and exited the command room.

Well, I guess I should be heading to the R&D room to test out Tonion's DNA data…then again, we're all heading there, isn't it? Zero needs to get the new weapons, and X needs to lend the Glide Armour to Douglas.

"Hey, Axl." X spoke to me as we walked.  
"Yeah? What is it, X?" I replied, trying to sound normal.  
"After we go to the R&D room, can we talk?" he asked.

I tensed. His voice is gentle, and unlike in our first meeting, he's not threatening or intimidating at all. I can really hear and feel his concern for me, but why am I scared? A part of me actually feels happy that he's treating me nicely like this, but why do I feel so scared? Is it because that he's most likely going to talk to me about…Red?

"He's not gonna bite." Zero assured me, patting my shoulder and laughing softly at the end. "Well, unless you're food, but you're not, even though your head looks like a pineapple. Besides, you look like you need it."

Somehow, hearing Zero said that makes me feel better, even though I know that X isn't aggressive. Maybe it's because of that pineapple bit. It's kind of adorable, how he said it.

"Pineapple." I remarked, snorting and giggling.  
"No lie, though, your head looks like one." Zero half-joked…but then again, knowing him, it might just be a full joke.  
X just smiled and petted my head. It's a bit unexpected and kind of offensive, but for some reason, because it's X, I don't feel angry.  
"So…can we talk?" X asked again, returning to his original concern.  
"Sure, X."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Newsflash. Remember that second interview? I got the job. But I have to move back to Indonesia. Well, I won't go into details over that here. I've decided to take the job. But either way, I feel like that my life is mimicking PMGR-like, at this point, Axl is going to have to "move on to a new life and say his goodbyes", and I'm going to have to do the same. Everything I see here in Singapore, I'll have to say goodbye to them in about one month._


	46. Chapter 37: PUPA

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 37: Pupa**

After X, Zero and I finished our business in the R&D room, I went with X to one of the Hunter lounges to get a private room to talk. We had walked out of the R&D room with Zero, but he decided to go to the training room to test out the new technique he had gotten from Tonion's data. And now, here I am with X, sitting on a chair, facing him, in one of the Hunter lounge private rooms.

"So, what is it, X?" I asked him as soon as we settled down. "What is it that you'd like to talk about to me?"  
"I heard you'd like to become a hunter…it's correct, isn't it?" X replied.  
I just chuckled. "Who told you?" I asked him. Most likely, it's Zero or Commander Signas. But last time…

"I…if I can, I would like to join the Hunters."  
"That's what I was thinking for you, too. X had been telling me to consider the possibility of you not wanting to join. He told me to tell you of this, shall this topic ever come. Have you ever thought about it?"

Yeah, when I talked to Commander Signas about me wanting to join HQ, he brought up that X told him that I might not want to.

"It was Zero, wasn't it?" I continued, a tiny smirk on my face.  
"Yeah." X answered, smiling back at me, as if he knows the cat's gotta get out of the bag someday and that he's predicted this.  
"Commander Signas told me that you told him…" I spoke again, pausing for a while to take a breath. "To consider the possibility of me not wanting to join. Why did you do that?"  
X giggled, as if he knows I was going to confront him about it. Am I so easily read? Or has he been planning something from the beginning? Most likely the latter, given how laid-back his reactions are.

"It's just…I want to know why you want to join the Hunters." X answered, explaining himself.  
"Is it so complicated?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows. "I used to be a murderer, you know? I…I lived a life of fighting. But I…even though I fought for my family, Red Alert fought for money. Blood money. I love my family, but now that they're gone, I…my duty. I have decided that it is my duty to fight for, and protect the world we live in." I explained it, short and sweet. There are so much more details, but right now I just need to get the core of it out.  
"It's not complicated." X replied. "I think it's very kind of you to want to fight for the people who can't. But do you know what fighting means?" he added, asking back.

I can't help but giggle for a few seconds. He asked me that? Someone who's literally lived a life of fighting?

"I've fought all my life, X." I stated, chuckling at the end. "Of course I do."  
"Then can you explain it?" X requested.

Eh? It should be…easy, right? Fighting is basically beating people up. Well, okay. I sound like a human child when I put it that way. But fighting, in its purest form, is basically just that, right?

"In its purest form, fighting is basically…dealing damage to people, right?" I answered. I don't know why I stuttered in the middle, but I did. How? I should know everything there is to this topic. Hell, it's my life!  
X just smiled a sad smile when he saw me. What, am I a kid? Are you looking down on me? I tried to suppress it, but no matter how much I try to calm down, I find myself narrowing my eyes to glare at him.  
"It means risking your life. Surely, you know that, too." X added.  
"Of course I do. I…I almost got myself killed." I remarked, remembering how an assassin from the Maverick Hunters killed half my squad—and I would've been dead if it weren't for Red that time. And it's not the only time. Of all of 10 years, I've nearly gotten myself killed multiple times, but oh lord, that day. I felt like a big part of myself died inside.  
"Do you really intend to continue living like that?" X questioned.

I just sighed. I…I don't know how to feel. He's policing my life choices, and I don't like it. Unlike Red or Anteator, he didn't raise me. But at the same time, I can't get angry. It means he cares about me. I can't get angry at people who simply care about my well-being, even though they express it in a way that I personally find annoying or something.

"That's what I have chosen based on my own personal morals." I declared. "As an assassin, I have extinguished many lives, all for the purpose of money. Even though that, at heart, I did it for my family, in the end, in its purest form, I had killed for money. So the least I can do is to pledge this life as a sacrifice to society that I had painted red with its blood."  
"So you intend to spend all your life fighting to compensate for what you had done?" X clarified, and I nodded.  
"That's what I'm trying to tell you from the beginning." I remarked, softly smirking.

I don't understand. What part of it is objectionable? If he's concerned about me as a person, I don't think it's a special kind of concern you give to friends. It's the concern, the natural empathy you feel for literally every individual. Maybe one day, I'll just be another number to him someday. We may have fought together in this crisis, but as much as I want to, I can't guarantee that we'll work together more in the future to the point we become comrades.

"You intend to offer yourself to society?" X questioned, again. "You do know that there's no guarantee that it'll give back, don't you?" he continued, his smile looking sadder and sadder as he spoke.  
"I know." I replied, nodding. "In fact, that was…it broke me. Once. When I was much younger. But I learned. I knew better. Even if it'll continue to take everything away from me, there are things worth protecting, people worth giving everything to." I explained.

X let out a strained chuckle after I answered. I don't understand what…what's so sad about it. I'm just a repentant murderer who wants to wipe his records clean, turning it from red to a pure white. So that, one day, when I look at myself in the mirror, I no longer see myself as a sinner, but someone who has repented, his sins wiped clean. In a way, to be reborn.

"I don't know why, Axl." X spoke again after taking in a few deep breaths. "I don't know why it hurts so much to hear you say that. Obviously, your heart's in it and you've made the decision yourself. But for some reason, my chest feels tight and I want to cry because I feel sad for you." he kept speaking, letting out more strained chuckles afterwards.  
"I guess it's because I hate myself?" I remarked, sadly smirking at him after I dropped that bomb. "Well, not all of me. Just the murderer in me."  
"I guess so." X replied, chewing his lips afterwards. "But…anyways." X spoke again, before pausing to re-compose himself. "It's your choice. As much as I don't agree with it, it's not my right to dictate you."  
"Thanks, X." I thanked him, feeling myself calm down. It kind of hurts a bit, though, because he still looks a bit sad.

"Anyways..." I spoke up again, trying to change the topic. "If I may ask, what was it about your creator's words?" I asked, remembering how he brought it up after he transformed into the Glide Armour just earlier.  
X flinched, tensing for a split second, his eyes wide. But after that tiny moment, he relaxed and smiled.  
"I'm glad you asked." X responded. "Well…it's been 10 years after Eurasia. There have been no major crises until now. I spent that time helping other reploids and humans rebuild the world. It had been going swimmingly well, but then…I discovered the Glide Armour, and the hologram of my creator. And his words."

"My creator left this for me, shortly before I retired. It's the first armour I received after helping the Hunters rebuild the world after Eurasia. He told me, 'Good old X, take this armour. This is what it can do…' something like that. And then he said, 'But remember, it must only be used for good!'" X had said, back then in the command room. Don't tell me…

"And that was why you retired?" I confirmed.  
X just softly snorted, before nodding. "Pathetic, isn't it?" he croaked. "All this chaos, caused by…by my own weakness. I wonder…" he paused for a while.  
"I never understood what kind of good Dr. Light—my creator, was talking about. All the good I was able to bring about was never achieved through fighting. I realized that, and that was why I left—so that everyone else can realize that as well." he elaborated.  
"But as Anteator had told me, people don't always interpret things the way we do, and I made that mistake. And…and that's why we're here now." he continued speaking, and paused again to force a big smile on his face. "Right now, I feel like that the 'good' that Dr. Light told me about was…fixing the consequences of my naïveté."  
"So you don't believe in fighting?" I questioned as I remember what Zero said about him last night: "You and X are really similar, except that it's what he's not fighting for."

X nodded. "But it's like…I feel that it's more like I know that fighting isn't the way, and it's not just what I believe." he answered. "I know it's childish of me to not acknowledge my belief as a belief when it's outside the realms of science. You know, everyone knows that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. Certain stuff like that. But somehow, even though my belief of fighting not being the way is not as certain as science, I feel that it is knowledge, not belief." he ranted.

I just sighed. I guess, like Zero, he hasn't found an answer yet. But right now, it just makes me feel afraid. I read about them. I idolized them, put them on a pedestal, and saw them as defenders of justice and society. But now here they are, uncertain of their position and role. It's more like…instead of having not found an answer yet, they cast away the answer they once had.

Now I'm wondering, will I become like that someday?

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This chapter shredded my heart. But, anyways, I have to thank  BlueLightning (Guest) for the review. You had expressed my feelings exactly. The majority of the fandom makes fun of him, refusing to take him seriously, some even disregarding his existence altogether. It was for the reason you mentioned that he is my favourite character, and it is the reason why I wrote his story...twice over, creating two timelines as a result. He suffered through so much, yet manages to get up again to smile another day. I have adopted it as my own way of life.  
To an extent, I have already kept my promise. I have another Axl fic called The Voice in Your Heart, set in a different timeline from PMGR. Both timelines I do have also have a much longer story. PMGR has a sequel in my own personal archives, although due to sheer length (Because it covers everything between X7 and X8) and noticeable OC content, I'm not sure if I can write it and swear to myself that I'd finish it.  
As for Angelheart111, I thank you, too, for your compliment. As you might have noticed, English is not my native language. I am an Indonesian currently living in Singapore, although that will change in about a month. If you want help from me, feel free to PM me._

 _One more thing-yes, I have to thank every single one of you that I have reached yet another milestone of 100 reviews. Previously, before I hit this milestone, when I was at about 90+ reviews, I lamented neglecting celebrating my 77th review (I've been using the number 7 in celebrations because PMGR is an adaptation of MMX7. Geddit?), but 100 is a milestone nevertheless._


	47. Bonus Chapter 8: GOODBYE

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Bonus Chapter 8: Goodbye**

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _The second bonus chapter in Red's perspective. I always planned to have a bonus chapter in Red's perspective around the time Axl fights him, and I initially planned it to be the scene after the fight, but I've decided that Bonus Chapters are not only chapters in the perspective of characters other than Axl, but also chapters that you can skip without missing anything important, so I did this instead.  
At almost 1,100 words, it's the shortest chapter I've written in a while. I initially capped "non-fight" chapter lengths to about 1000++ and fight chapters at a minimum of 2,000 words, but the length of overall chapters ballooned over time. eue  
_

* * *

Is this how it feels to be alone? I've forgotten how it feels after so long, and it sure hurts like a bitch.  
Well, it's more like everything hurts because of a single bitch. It was a relief to learn that I didn't exactly allow the Professor to stay here out of my own will, but his. But still, learning it didn't change anything, although I can take pleasure in the fact that it wasn't because of me being a piece of shit, but him.

God bless everyone else who's gotten to Heaven earlier than me, although I can't help but think that I'm boarding the one-way-express train to Hell.

Hearing the sudden sound of the doorbell made me jump. God damn, I forgot the Professor's still here.  
I walked over to the door and opened it myself, and sure enough, his ugly face is right in front of me.

"What do you want?" I growled. "You've taken fucking everything from me. So what do you want now? You want to take my personal space, too? Make it quick."  
"I just want a little talk, if it's alright with you." his answer was surprisingly gentle. Is he trying to manipulate me?  
"I thought you'd force your voice into my mind, like what you did with Anteator." I replied, folding my arms. One second afterwards, I backed away and returned to sit on my chair. Hell if he's grabbing me. In hindsight, I shouldn't have gotten close to him. I swear Axl got his temper from me…  
"No." he answered simply. "It's just that, looking at what's happened, I felt that I need to tell you that I know how it feels to lose a son."

I tilted my head and raised my eyebrows. Someone actually loved him enough to sleep with him and cohabitate with him and even have—erm, build a kid with him? That's gotta be the best joke I've heard all day. Unless…well, he built his son or adopted him on his own. In which case, it explains why the son left.

"Really?" I sneered at him. "Didn't expect that."  
"I didn't, either." the Professor chuckled bitterly. "I lost so many things."  
"That's my line." I growled at him.  
"I know. It's because that, in my loss, I continued to take and take." he affirmed. "Now I'm wondering if I'm doing the right thing."  
"Someone like you?" I sneered again. Because honestly, after he trashed the whole of Red Alert—my life's work, he dare say that? He really should've doubted himself sooner. Otherwise this whole shitstorm wouldn't have happened.

"I asked myself the same thing, too. I disregarded people's lives for so long, trampled over so many futures just for the sake of personal pride, but why am I doubting myself just now? Do you know the name, 'Wily'?" he replied.  
"I do know a Professor Rosa Wily." I answered. I do know her…really well. Just not in the way most people would expect if I say that.  
"What about an Albert Wily?" the Professor asked again, and I just shook my head. If there's someone who reads a lot on history, it's Anteator.  
"You're talking to him right now." the Professor gave me the answer, a bitter smile on his face.  
"No way, aren't you Sigma?" I blurted out. That ugly mug of his is very recognizable. It's Sigma's face! The voice, too. It's Sigma's voice. Also, Sigma has a reputation of coming back after being destroyed. How in the world…?  
"Sigma died after Eurasia. Gone, forever. Now it's just me now." the Professor sighed. "And, see? It's for this purpose that I continued to exist way after my death. I…"

The Professor cut himself off, and looked away. Well, it's kind of…good? That his reason to fuck shit up is because of his own pride. That way, I don't feel bad for him. Who wants to, after he basically wrecked everything and everyone I ever loved?

Then, the Professor sighed again. "Nevermind. It's too late to turn back, and it's too late to beg for forgiveness."  
"Damn right, you old coot. I don't know you, and I don't care who the fuck Albert Wily is. All I want is to just die on my own terms." I sniped at him. I can't pity him, even though he's sad.  
"I know." the Professor bitterly answered. "But I suppose it might just be for the best."

After that, the Professor turned back and left without a word, and as soon as he did, I just shut the door. Kindly fuck off while I brood in peace. When you go to Hell, I'll be right there waiting for you and I'll wrestle you 24/7, so you don't get back to Earth again.

As far as I know, Axl, X and Zero have just destroyed the Mole Bore and now they're advancing to the Crimson Palace. Axl being Axl, he'd direct them to the shortcuts. I had it destroy the Palace Road, so that they can't turn back. Knowing them, though, I don't think they'd turn back, but still. Someone's got to take care of the remaining two pitiful bastards stuck in this place, and it better be soon.

Losing a son, huh…

Looking back at how Axl broke down in tears after we murdered a whole research lab to get the components the Professor demanded, I felt that I had lost him then and there. I let him down. And that was why he escaped, and is now in the Hunters' custody.  
It was worrying when X pointed his buster at Axl that time, I was so glad I could save his skin that way. Honestly, I would've tossed everything I had at the Hunters back then, if X ended up shooting him. I sure hope Axl's doing well, and I hope they're treating him well. He's a good boy.  
I wonder what he had been thinking of me. Does he hate me? I did know that Anteator told him the truth, but none of us could deny that I consciously decided to break our code of honour anyways—the codes I built on my own.

I always taught him—if you love someone, let them go. If they don't return, then they're never yours in the first place. But if they do return, that means they're all yours.  
I guess I'll have my answer later when he does get here.


	48. Chapter 38: RED

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 38: Red**

Destroying the Mole Bore wasn't a difficult job. Sure, we had to run around the roads as it destroyed them as it chased us, but when it stopped in front of the Crimson Palace gate, X, Zero and I made short work of it.

Red had spoken through the Mole Bore before it started attacking—he didn't want us to try and turn back, and that he will be waiting "at the arena".  
It's going to be there, huh? It was the arena that Red used to train me, and a select few generals. It was always a nightmarish spot for me to fight in, but I suppose, as with every one of his conscious actions, Red's got a good reason for it. Most likely, he wants to see if I'm strong enough to be "let go", so to speak.

Anyways, I'm just going to have to find out from him myself…it's been so long since we met and spoke face-to-face…

"I'm back, Red." I greeted him with a wide sad smile. "Long time no see."  
"I know, right?" Red replied, chuckling sadly at the end. "I missed you."  
I leaned my head backwards. "Didn't expect you to say that." I responded. Because really, it's his responsibility to put on a brave face for everyone, to be "the man".  
"Once in a while is fine." Red huffed out. "Besides, it's the last time."  
"I'm the one who's going to miss you." I argued—because in a few hours or something, he's gonna die.  
"I know." Red sighed, with a smirk on his face. "So let's get it over with. It's supposed to be done, isn't it?"

"Wait a minute, please!" X cried out, interrupting our conversation. It's irritating, but kind of…refreshing? At least Red can be alive for a few more minutes…  
"What?" Red said as he turned his head towards X.  
"Where's the Professor?" X asked.  
"No idea." Red answered flatly. "Well, okay. I have a semblance of an idea, but I can't exactly tell you where to turn. He busted the surveillance cameras shortly before I left for this place." he elaborated.  
"But I know that as soon as the base was emptied when almost all the Red Alert members marched off to die, he started messing up parts of the base to create some sort of trippy circus. He's definitely not in the living quarters—nothing useful to him there, so don't waste your time looking for him there. But if you see a fucked-up puzzle or game, that means he's close. He had been slaving himself in his lab making some sort of robotic cocktail, if it makes any sense." Red elaborated more. I like the way he says things sometimes. It's kind of funny.  
"I…I see." X stuttered out. "Thank you." he replied as he readied his buster.

"Wait a minute, please." Red threw X's words right back at him as he took out his double-scythe.  
"Mmm…hmm?" Zero hummed in response, tilting his head as he realised Red's attempt of a joke…or half-joke.  
"I'd like for you two…" he continued, turning to X and Zero. "To just stand back and let Axl fight me, alone."  
"This again?" X questioned, sighing.  
"You should know of all people that, before Axl was in your custody, he was in mine. I raised him." Red explained. "And as with all good parents, I'm raising him so that he'll be fine without me, or anyone else, for that matter."  
"Oh…" X blurted out.  
"Life can be cruel. As you can see, everything can be taken away from you without any warning. And your most trusted person can someday leave you; or worse, betray you." Red elaborated. "And that's why I want to know that he's strong enough to survive all those trials…before I let him go."  
Zero nodded, and X followed. "I understand." X replied.

I guess I was right.  
"Letting go", huh, Red? You always liked to use that phrase.

"It's understandable and natural for people to want their loved ones by their side at all times," Red told me once upon a time, "But sometimes we can't have that."  
"So what do we do, then? Will…will they ever run away?" I asked.  
"You just have to let go, Axl." Red answered. "Let them go free. Maybe they have things to do. Maybe they need alone time. And there's a bazillion other reasons I can come up with. But trust me on this; if you love someone, let them go. If they're yours, they'll return to you."

Jumping over towards one of the platforms, I manifested both of my guns and looked at Red, who was levitating over a platform a few distances away from the one I'm standing on. I nodded at him, and then he nodded back. That was our cue.

About one second afterwards, Red swung his scythe forward, and a wide energy blade sped up towards me. I activated my jet-boots and quickly hovered to the side, barely dodging it. I hovered to another platform—one of the few platforms across the platform Red was levitating over. As with all platforms across any platforms Red is levitating over at the time, there's a risk that he might use the green centre of it to summon a tornado. But at the same time, it's the best place to aim at him from.

Transforming both guns into the G-Launcher, I did my best to aim with that huge gun and pulled the trigger. The huge shot hit Red's forearm, causing him to flinch. But because his grip is strong as ever, he didn't drop the scythe. And then, he disappeared, and appeared again in another platform, and I have to chase him.

Of course, he can't do that anywhere else. This arena is his turf.

"Hey, Red, it's not fair, isn't it?" I complained to him after a training session in that arena, years ago. "This place gives you all the advantages."  
"Because life's not fair all the time." Red responded. "Sure, it can be fair sometimes. But other times, you just have to deal with its unfairness. Think about this…if you're fighting to the death and it happens to be on your turf, will you say "yes" if the enemy asks you to fight somewhere else because it's not fair?" he further elaborated.  
"O…of course not." I stammered out, hanging my head.  
"See?" Red replied. "It's advantageous for you, but all in all it's still going to be an unfair fight. But hey, when someone dies, the one still alive's not gonna complain about it being unfair. And someday you'll get the short end of the stick, too. You have to be prepared for those kinds of situations."

The moment I stepped on the platform across the platform he is now levitating over, a gust of wind blew from beneath me—I have to run. I jumped away and dashed—trying to land a shot on him would just be a double-hit. I may be able to hit Red, but I'd get fucked up by that tornado.

"Whoooooaaaa!" I yelled when I made the mistake of thinking I could take on the tornado, and got blown away. It was years ago, in another training session.  
I was so panicked that I didn't think—I just let myself fall. My back hit the "wall" of one of the platforms, and I fell down before splashing into the electrified water.  
"Axl!" Red cried out after me, but even now the memory of his voice was blurry. I couldn't hear him very well either, mostly because, even back then, all I could remember was screaming before I splashed through like a dog to find a platform to cling to, so I could climb up.

I'm not embarrassing myself a second time. And it's not just embarrassing and disgraceful, it also hurt like a bitch.

I watched as the tornadoes swirl on the platform I had jumped away from, along with other platforms close to the one Red was levitating over. Even with the tornadoes obscuring my view of whatever's behind it, I could see Red smiling.

"Why didn't you tell me about that goddamn water before I fell down into it?" I yelled at Red when he came to visit me in the medbay after that disastrous training session.  
Red heaved a big sigh and let me calm down before answering. "Tell me, Axl. If you led an enemy into a trap, will you go on and babble about how the trap works?"  
I was stunned into silence for a few seconds before I slowly shook my head in astonishment.  
"That's right. You wouldn't." Red replied. "Unless the strategy requires you to manipulate, or lie to the enemy to trigger a bigger trap, you don't. Otherwise they'd be a bigger pain in the ass. If you're the one being led into a trap, you have to study it before you learn the hard way. Understand?"

But at this moment, though, there's nothing new to learn about Red or this arena. I've learned all I could already, and all I have to do is put it to the final test.

When the tornadoes stopped blowing away, I moved back to the platform I was, only for Red to disappear. The next thing I know was seeing a phantom of him materialise right before my eyes. As it was about to hit me, I jumped away to another platform, and barely dodged the attack.

"You've grown up to be a slippery little fish." Red joked, the phantoms speaking with him, fading away when he's finished speaking.  
"I don't dream of sleeping with a bunch of chips." I added to the joke before jumping to the platform right across Red's, and fired the G-Launcher again.

One weakness of this arena is that, because it's connected to Red, there's a recharge period—if he's appeared on another platform, he has to wait for a few seconds to teleport somewhere else.  
Another weakness is that he can only levitate over a platform. He can't jump around like other reploids—hell, other creatures including humans and animals—not synchronised to this arena.  
So he had no choice but to take that shot, which hit him right on the shoulder.

I guess I'm not just any fish, eh?  
Because of the shoulder shot, Red had more trouble gripping, let alone swinging his scythe. It hurts, but felt good at the same time. It hurts seeing him in pain, but at the same time it's one step closer to freeing him of his existence.

"Don't dream of jumping over the Dragon's Gate." Red huffed out as he held his scythe in his non-dominant hand instead. "Do it."  
"With pleasure." I shot back.

"What's that you're reading, Red?" I asked him when I walked in on him reading something on his tablet, years ago.  
"Oh, Axl. Wanna take a look? It's a collection of old legends Anteator e-mailed me this morning. I need to relax my nerves, so I figured I'd read it." Red answered.  
"Why not?" I replied as I stood to read over his shoulder. When I did, I saw a picture of a school of carp, and they were trying to jump over a gate.  
"Ah, you didn't read from the beginning." Red said when he realised that I was reading the story in the middle. "It's about a bunch of carps trying to jump over the Dragon's Gate. An old legend from a country called China, back before Eurasia destroyed like, 90 percent of all countries. Actually, way, way back before reploids existed." he explained.  
"Oooh. And…why are they jumping? What's in it for them?" I asked.  
Red didn't say anything and just scrolled down with a smirk on his face, showing a .gif of a carp that successfully jumped over the Dragon's Gate transforming into a dragon.

Red disappeared from that platform, and reappeared…just behind me!  
I did the only logical thing and shoved him away with my own body. I knocked him backwards, and he stumbled, falling down the platform. He was quick to react, even though he was using his non-dominant hand, and used the scythe to stab the wall of the platform, and avoided falling into the electrified water.

I didn't waste any time and aimed down, using Gungaroo's Explosion to hit Red's hand. I succeeded—he lost his fingers, and the scythe broke into two. And then, he fell into the water, and screamed at the top of his lungs.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** A lot has happened to me. Ever since I got the job, I find myself suddenly juggling with so many new responsibilities: Moving, starting the job early, settling down deals with my landlord and thinking about luggage...it's overwhelming, and honestly, headache-inducing. I'm so nervous...but I'll get through this. In the meantime, I'll focus more on PMGR because writing PMGR provides me a better escape than aimlessly browsing the internet or rolling around on my bed daydreaming.  
As an aside..._ _ _I had to skip the Mole Bore fight because it's basically "ruuuuuuuuunRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUN and then SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!"_ I wanted to make the fight against Red awesome, even though it's basically "jump jump shoot dodge shoot jump ow fuckshit". __I'm glad I pulled it off, but, well, at first, I needed to replay that bit in X7 to get a better picture, so that I can write better than, well, that basic idea up there. After abandoning my X7 and its shitty controls for so long, i was a disgrace. i moved axl around like i was a tortoise. so embarrassing.  
Also, I finally hit 111 reviews! It's a milestone because PMGR's Axl has 11 as a motif number.  
_


	49. Chapter 39: FOREVER

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 39: Forever**

"You grow up so fast, Axl." Red huffed out as he caught his breath. He had climbed up to a platform before teleporting to one of the edges of the arena, with a button on the wall. Having won the fight, I had gone back to the edge where X and Zero were. "You…you've jumped over the Dragon's Gate. You're not a fish anymore. You're a dragon." he huffed out some more.

"Thanks, Red, but…why didn't you…I mean…did the Professor restrict your bodily functions, like what…what happened to Tonion?" I questioned. I can't believe I beat Red one-on-one. Was he handicapped or something? As awesome as it can be, I still can't believe that I beat him in his own turf. If I beat him because he wasn't as strong as he could be, then it would be quite a letdown.

"No." Red answered as he sat down on the far edge. "The Professor…he came and talked to me about some nonsense. When he left, I…he removed his virus from me."

Wait, what?  
He's not infected anymore?

"Is it true, Red?" I cried out. "You're not infected anymore?"  
"Yeah." Red answered.  
"Then you have to come with us!" I yelled at him.

I don't know what the hell the Professor was thinking, doing that, of all things. Sure, even if he rigged something else inside Red, we can remove it later! Even if it's a bomb, if we can recover Red's electronic brain, we can fix him and he can start a new life, like me! He doesn't have to die…

Red just laughed, looking up at the ceiling.  
"I'm so happy…" Red replied, choking down his sobs, "That you've returned to me, for me. Thank you. But I have to refuse."

Red, what the fuck? You're just going to sit down here and die? You can't be serious.

"Why, Red? You don't have to die!" I argued back.  
"I'm sorry, Axl. But this is my choice. This whole group was my life. I'm going down with it. Besides…it's my time already." Red explained himself.  
"What the hell? Red, reploids aren't like humans. If we can just recover your electronic brain, we can rebuild you. And Red Alert was my life, too! Does it mean I have to die?" I tried to press on my point. Please don't throw your life away, Red…  
"You're still young, Axl. You have your future ahead of you." Red insisted back.  
"You're no different! As reploids, we have the potential to be immortal. You have your future ahead of you, too! Are you just going to give up?" I cried out. I don't understand…

Red chuckled when he heard me. "Who wants to live forever? Even if you do, remember what I said, Axl? It's understandable and natural for people to want their loved ones by their side at all times. But sometimes we can't have that."  
"So what are you doing, then? You're running away?" I asked him. Is he just going to lie down and die here?  
"You know better than everyone, Axl, that we have committed great sins, even before we broke our own code of honour." Red explained. "I believe that this is just karma, and I can't run away from my place…with the rest of the others, wherever they are now. But you…you and the other defectors, you escaped unscathed by the virus. It's you guys who have a future. It's my choice, Axl, and nothing you say is going to change that."

As soon as Red finished speaking, he pressed the button on the wall of his side of the arena, and suddenly the ground started shaking.

"Wha—what's going on?" I questioned.  
"Earthquake?" Zero blurted out.  
"Red! What did you do?" X asked.

"Self-destruct button." Red answered. "This arena will be my grave. I don't intend for anyone to scavenge me and rebuild me."  
I hate you, Red. I hate you so much. But who am I kidding? Those two sentences were lies. Big fat lies.  
"I didn't return for this, Red." I sobbed. I didn't come here to find out that he can be saved, but he ended up choosing death anyways. I don't understand.  
"Yes, you did." Red flatly answered. "Thank you for returning, Axl. I love you too."

That's it. Those are his last words. Of all things to say…  
I felt my tears rapidly welling up and dropping down my face like my eyes are waterfalls. Come on, say it. Open your mouth, let the voice out. Let him hear something nice before he dies…

"I love you, Red."

Alright, I did it. Now, I can't look back…move your legs. Leave quickly, this place is going to cave in.  
Maybe one last glance won't hurt…  
Red was there, sitting on his side of the arena as little pieces of the ceiling fall around him.  
I can't stare. Just one glance had taken time. Time that should be used to run away from here.

"Let's go, Axl." X gently said to me, patting my shoulder.  
I just nodded, hanging my head. That's it. I'm Red Alert's sole survivor now.  
"Let's go, quickly." Zero urged us, and we ran.

"That fish just turned into a dragon!" I had cried out when Red showed me the .gif of the carp turning into a dragon from the story. "So cooooool!"  
"I know, right? It transformed from an ordinary little fish into an all-powerful dragon." Red added. "But still, even with a change like that, there's a sacrifice to be made."  
"Really?" I questioned. Back then, I didn't understand the implications of rising above your peers.

"See this? The carp that just jumped over, it soared alone, while its friends continued to try to jump across the Dragon's Gate. Obviously, it doesn't belong with its carp friends anymore. It has to live among the dragons, live like the dragons." Red explained.  
"It's…sad, when you put it like that." I remarked.  
"I know. But sometimes, goodbyes have to be said. You see the rest of the carp in the river? One fine day a fisherman will find the bunch of fish and catch and sell them. And then people will cook them and eat them. The fish will die before they can become dragons. If the carp didn't turn into a dragon and didn't say its goodbyes, then it'll die like its friends." Red explained more.  
"Then, since that dragon-carp has become powerful, it should save its friends!" I argued back.  
Red shook his head with a smile. "In Chinese folklore, dragons have the responsibility to control the weather. When will it rain, when will the sun rise. By controlling the weather, it controls the lives of the people. Because plants, including rice, are grown not just with seeds, but by rain. If rain doesn't fall, then there will be a famine and shortage of water. All life will suffer: Plants, animals, humans. Even we reploids can be quite miserable without water.  
The carps that have become dragons have that duty and responsibility to fulfil, because they're not carps anymore." he elaborated even more. "It can't just cause floods and kill many humans just because humans eat fish and humans need to eat to survive. That's just sick."

"So…basically…? Is becoming a dragon a good thing? I'm not sure anymore…" I stammered out nervously.  
"Well, it really depends on each individual. Not every carp would want to spend their whole lives trying to jump over some gate. Others prefer living and dying a carp—eat, swim, have eggs. And it's their choice. The carp that choose to bet their lives on the Dragon's Gate will look for the gate and try to jump over it, knowing that they might just die without becoming a dragon. And even when they've become dragons, they can't just abuse their powers.  
Neither choice is wrong, Axl. There's good and bad in it, so you have to respect other people's choices." Red answered.  
"So, Red…what's your answer?" I asked.  
"I don't know yet. But for now, I'm content where I am. So I guess I'll stay a fish my whole life, but I don't mind." Red chuckled. "I like being free."

I suppose you're free now, Red. Looking back at our conversation that time, it's like it was almost prophetic. If I didn't escape to the Hunters, I…I probably would have been toyed with by the Professor. I had to say goodbye to everyone, even Red. And now I have new duties and new responsibilities to take care of.

I'm sorry I didn't listen the first time, Red. It was your choice to stay here and die. Knowing you, you probably didn't want to work for the government that betrayed all reploids. I'm sorry that, even though, in your words, I've become a dragon, I'm still young and kind of stupid. But I promise I'll grow up. I'll make you and everyone else even more proud.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** The more I think about it, the more I feel that my life is following PMGR. I have to say goodbye to Singapore and to my old life of mindlessly clinging to school; the simple concept of "have classes, pass exams, have fun, repeat". I'm about to transition from living in a micro version of the real life to going out to see the real thing. Feel its challenges, feel the truth in the quotes I toss around like it's nothing: "Sometimes we can't get what we want".  
Writing this chapter comforted me. I was so frustrated, and then I realised that in order to change, to transition, to improve, sacrifices are needed. I had to leave a few things before I moved to Singapore and fight a few fights, too...and things got better.  
I need to leave my comfort zone again, like last time. And like the last time, I'll carve my way to the mountain top.  
I'd say that I, too, will jump over the Dragon's Gate, but PMGR's Axl/Lambda is more dragon than I am. psst moonchan/Hannaji you knoooow.  
_


	50. Chapter 40: GONE

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Chapter 40: Gone**

It's done. Red is dead, and he had made sure he won't ever be brought back to life by self-destructing the arena. And now, the entrance to the arena was blocked by the resulting debris.

Now, all I have left to do is kill the damn Professor. He ruined my life, he ruined my family. He took everything from me, except for my life. For payment, I'll take his.

As soon as we left the arena, I guided X and Zero to search for the Professor and his "messed-up circus". X did ask me to "let it out", but it's no use. Until the Professor's dead, I can't rest. Who knows, maybe he's installed a few traps around here or something.

After a while of searching around the place, I found a room that the Professor had altered beyond recognition—all there was in there were tombstones—teleporters to fights against the Professors' flawed replica of the Red Alert generals.

He wanted to drive me insane with that? Or did he want to tempt me to join him by showing me that he can "rebuild them"? He can't be serious. They sound and behave like zombies. We made short work of them, and why the hell would I go insane over those flawed copies? If anything, it just made me more determined to kill him. It just convinced me that he's not so all-powerful after all.  
And now, we finally found him, sitting in one of the old warehouses.

"So you came." the Professor spoke, his back turned towards us. Now that he has no cloak obscuring his face, the three of us can see his whole armoured body—he's even bigger than Red. That voice…it's definitely Sigma.

"Sigma!" Zero cried out. "Why won't you die?"  
"You keep on ruining lives." X hissed. "You deform people and make them either want to die or become mindless mavericks! What do you want? Why do you keep doing this no matter how many times you fail?"  
"What I want is not your business." Sigma answered as he turned his ugly face towards us. "But I know I need the two of you to be mine. And I needed Axl for it."  
"If it was that simple, then why didn't you spare the others?" I questioned.  
"I didn't know it would be that simple. It was only after so much research that I found out I could utilize the DNA data you could extract. If you hadn't escaped, I would've completed my research." he explained.  
But honestly, who cares anymore? Everyone's dead. Knowing what he wants won't change anything. Killing him, however, will change something.

I drew my guns and instantly opened fire, shooting his head. The bullets burned a hole into his head, but it only burned the skin—I didn't get to his electronic brain. I tried shooting more, but he blocked it with his huge hands.

"Enough talk." I growled. "I don't care what you want. You killed my family, and now you're going to pay."  
"Oh? I thought you prefer the peaceful way? Talking and resolving conflicts? Maybe if X and Zero just surrender themselves to me, the fights and crises will stop." Sigma tried to tempt X and Zero.  
"Sigma." X hissed. "You've caused a total of seven crises. You destroyed Abel City, headed the X-Hunters, infected Dr. Doppler, destroyed Sky Lagoon before framing Repliforce for it, masterminded the Eurasia crash, manipulated Gate, and now this. Do you really expect us to trust you anymore, after you've caused the deaths of countless people and destroyed this planet?" he ranted.

Well said, X. Very well said.

"Oh? Is the kind, peaceful X going to kill me without even trying to solve my problem without violence?" Sigma taunted. It's grating on my ears. "Didn't your dear Dr. Light told you to only use that armour for good?" he continued, gesturing at the Glide Armour X was wearing.

X said nothing at first, but he didn't hang his head. His gaze was focused on Sigma, but I could see the faint glow of his three small green buster barrels—he's charging something. All of a sudden, he quickly raised his buster arm and huge bubbles were rapidly launched from the buster, at Sigma.  
It was a charged Splash Laser—it's much different than the spurt I got. It was an army of bubbles easily the size of huge beach balls, and those things surrounded Sigma like an army of angry hornets, and Sigma screamed as if he was a human being swarmed by bloodthirsty wasps. I just grinned at the spectacle. What delicious schadenfreude. Let's see you scream for once.

"He gave me this for good, too." X retorted, placing his buster in front of his chest. "If he didn't know or understand that you have to just fight sometimes, he wouldn't have given me this."

Bravo, X. Bravo. That was fantastic.

"Well said, X." I complimented him—because my hands are full—and Zero gave him a thumbs up.  
"You heard that. We're going to fuck the shit out of you." Zero spat.  
Sigma got up with a grunt, and his body fizzed with electricity. "Then you leave me no choice." he said as he manifested a gun slightly taller than his own body.  
"I'm going to beat all of you into submission, if you're just going to solve this with violence. So much for peace-keeping, huh X?" he's still taunting X—is he persistent, or just plain stupid?  
"It's no use talking to you." X argued back. "It's no use trying to talk to a wall, so I'm just going to treat you like one."

Damn, how did X get these sick lines? It really boosted morale.  
That's right, just treat him like a wall. Just treat him like something mindless. Just focus on the fact that he needs to be destroyed.

I loaded Splash Laser into my guns—I should've loaded Splash Laser when I fired those sudden headshots, but nevermind. I won't make the same mistake. This time, I'll definitely fuck him up.

Sigma started shooting—the shots were small and few, so they were easy to dodge. They ricocheted off the walls, but disappeared soon afterwards.

Zero jumped overhead, and switched his Z-Saber with the D-Glaive, and thrusted down on Sigma's gun, breaking it into half. Sigma threw it aside, only to pull out a bigger gun, and Zero's face was inches away from its barrel!

"Zero, watch out!" X cried out, and leaped towards Zero. X then took Zero by the hair and dashed away.  
"X, that hurt!" Zero yelled at him.  
"Sorry, Zee, I have no choice!" X apologised as he stopped when it seemed that he was out of range.  
Sigma pulled the trigger and fired a huge laser beam. Thankfully, X and Zero were indeed out of range. But Sigma knew that too, and started moving the gun slowly, and the fired beam moved with it.  
I just lay down on the ground, also out of range as Sigma was focusing on X and Zero, who were running around trying to hit him. With a barrel easily the size of Sigma's own head and such a big laser, too, it's a very troublesome weapon to deal with. I just need to shoot at the right spot to disable that titan…  
His body may be weak to the Splash Laser, but what about the gun?

I transformed both guns to the G-Launcher—it's the gun with the biggest shot, so it can hit pretty hard. It seems that there are two cables at the butt of the gun, one on the left, one on the right. It looks pretty small from here, like a grain of rice—but the big shots should take care of it. I shot at one of the cables, and it hit.  
All of a sudden, liquid started dripping down the broken cable, and the laser was shrunk to half its size. Jackpot, it really was a cable used to transfer energy around the gun! It looked like it was too big to be inside the gun—there's got to be a reason why it was sticking out. Now I just need to shoot the other one…

"Great job, Axl!" X cried out.  
Sigma just growled loudly, he sounded like he was going to burst.  
Good, suffer some more. Experience the pain I felt. You deserve it.

I quickly shot the other cable, and even with the fluids leaking out of the gun, it was still too big for Sigma to move quickly, and I hit the second cable. More fluids leaked out, and in the end the beam suddenly shrunk to the size of a toothpick before disappearing entirely.  
Sigma roared and threw the leaking, broken gun aside. And of all people, I would know that if a gunner ever loses their gun, they have nothing but their own body to attack with. And just as expected, he ran after X and Zero like a brainless, bloodthirsty beast.

X just fired the charged Splash Laser at him, and no matter how he tried to pop the bubbles, it was just a stupid move. Instead of popping, the bubbles caused him extreme pain. He should've known that contact with the bubbles are dangerous to him. He's probably just desperate.

Wait, holy shit, he may be desperate, but he's not stupid. He picked up the broken big gun I had disabled, and threw it at the bubbles—and they actually popped!

"Hahaha…hahahahahaha!" Sigma laughed maniacally. God damn it, he can circumvent the Splash Laser now!  
He's focusing on X and Zero—I had been lying on the ground. If I can sneak up on him, I'll cut his head open and shoot him right where it hurts the most. While Red was splashing around in the electrified water trying to find a platform to climb, I had hit him with the Copy Shot. I have his DNA, and he has just the right weapon for me to cut his head open from a nice distance. I'll show you Red Alert, bitch.

As Sigma used the broken tall gun like a big stick to wave around at X and Zero to try to swat them around, I crawled around the old warehouse—this is my turf.  
I know this place very well. I had guarded this place with my brothers on the day the assassin attacked us, of course I've gotten a real good look at the place, even if I wasn't in charge of logistics.  
And as an assassin, I know how to crawl without making any sound. I know how to move fast, undetected, without a cloaking device.  
Sigma won't know what hit him until it was too late.

"Axl! Some help—wait, what the fuck?" Zero called out to me, only to trail off when he noticed I had disappeared.  
"Where'd he gone off to?" X yelled.  
"He probably ran away, hahahahahaha!" Sigma laughed as he swung the tall gun even quicker, even stronger.

Don't worry. I'm right here…behind Sigma.  
I transformed into Red, and my guns transformed into his double-scythe.  
Even if Red only had one good eye, I could still see X and Zero grin and giggle like schoolgirls when they saw "Red" behind Sigma. Sigma, seeing "Red's" shadow, turned back as well—even better. I can see his pained expression this way.

I quickly swung the scythe sideways, chopping his big ugly arms off, and they fell down like kicked garbage bins. Zero got the memo, and used the D-Glaive to stab through his knees, forcing Sigma to kneel.  
Yes, good job, Zero. Kneeling really suits him.  
I slammed the tip of the double-scythe on the burn marks from when I shot his head earlier, and carved his head open, and peeled the outer layer of his head like an orange. Now, I'm not going to take any chances or make any mistakes.

Transforming the double-scythe into my Splash-Laser-loaded normal dual guns, I pointed them point blank at the inner machinery of Sigma's head.  
"This is for Red Alert, motherfucker." I declared, in Red's voice.  
And then, I squeezed the trigger. The Splash Laser melted the inner machinery as Sigma screamed. The scream only lasted about 1 second before it stopped, and his head was filled with nothing but water and dissolved metal, like a water bowl.  
The Splash Laser melted his eyes, too, and then it flowed down his face, making it look like he was crying. Eventually, it melted the rest of his head, too. The dissolved metal made the Splash Laser look murky and rust-coloured—it looked like he was crying blood.

Yes, this is a fitting end for you. Too bad it wasn't slow, but at least, this way, I'm sure you're dead. Because of the blood you have shed, it's only fitting that you cry blood.  
This is for the tears that we have shed from the torture you have inflicted on us.  
The fight is over, and we have won.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Holy shit. I finished PMGR, holy shit. Now I just need to write the multi-part epilogue, but either way, it's done. Wow. I'm so happy.  
_

 _First things first, though, I'll have to explain why I had to remove a few things, because I did._

 _1\. I had to cut the boss rush. Initially I wanted to write about it, put it in. I used to have a scene where ZXA finds the Crimson Palace graveyard and Axl goes absolutely batshit crazy when he found out he had to kill the Red Alert members again._  
 _But in the end, somehow it wouldn't work. Axl didn't react as intended, while the purpose of the scene was to show that. Because it's not working, I skipped it._ _  
2\. I had to cut Sigma's second form, mainly because the fight wouldn't make any sense. He would just destroy the floating platforms. And even if ZXA can climb over him, he'd squish them one by one like ants. I know that bigger animals can die when ants swarm them, but three isn't a swarm. Have you ever killed three ants separated from their colony with just your own fingers? I have, and it's bloody easy.  
3\. I had to change the ending scene where Axl shot Sigma with his back turned. It was stylish and I wanted to put it in, honestly. But it would be out of character, not to mention stupid, for him to just shoot like that without making sure Sigma ended up dead. By X7, literally everyone and their dog would know about this big bastard who kept stirring shit and kept coming back to life. You'd want to make sure he's dead, and it would be stupid to just let him fall down and not pursue him as he fell. Chances are, when he's landed, he can limp somewhere and disappear, only to reappear again when he's gotten repaired.  
_

 _41 chapters...should've made Chapter 1 a prologue instead-but eh, I don't feel like editing the numbers of all 41 non-bonus chapters. Maybe sometime._


	51. Epilogue 1: IMAGO

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Epilogue 1: Imago**

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _I finally finished the "body" of PMGR and painstakingly renumbered the chapters both on FFN and in my own word document. And now, here comes the multi-part epilogue. The first one is in X's perspective._

* * *

I arrived in a private room in one of the Hunter lounges, where a black haired, heavy-armoured female reploid was sitting there, waiting for me.

"Hello, X." she greeted me, a low-key tense expression on her face.  
"Hey, Solid." I addressed her as I sat down.  
"What's that?" she asked, gesturing at the brown envelope I was carrying.  
"Ah, right. Yes, this is what I wanted to talk to you about." I answered, carefully opening the brown envelope to reveal a certificate: Axl's.

A week has passed since Sigma was destroyed for the seventh time.

Just yesterday, I had heard from Commander Signas that Axl's Maverick Hunters acceptance certificate would be finished today. I requested for the Commander to keep it quiet from him, because I had intended to collect it and giving it to him as a surprise. Well, after I bring it along for this talk, that is.  
After I heard the news from Commander Signas, I called Solid for an appointment. She was very surprised, and until now she was tense—mostly because we don't really bother with each other.  
But now we have to talk—there's something important that I have to talk to her about…

"Who…is…" Solid stuttered out as she confusedly looked at the certificate, gently taking the precious document from my hands to look closer at it. "Axl is…that guy from Red Alert?"  
"Yeah." I affirmed.  
"The other one who's 100 percent immune to the virus?" she asked some more.  
"Yep." I affirmed again, nodding.

I just waited as she froze in shock, the certificate in her hands. Her eyes were wide and she was taking deep breaths. It took her about five seconds before she said something.  
"I killed half his unit and maimed the fuck out of him, and now I have to work with him?"

I just nodded, and looked away as she put the certificate down on the table between us, before trembling with a hanging head and a hunched posture.

"I'm scared." she confessed, in a mumbly voice I could barely hear.  
"He doesn't know it was you." I assured.  
"I know he doesn't." she replied, her head still hanging low enough for me to be unable to see her face. "It's just…I feel horrible. He's proof of how much I hate this job."

I just heaved a huge sigh.  
True, I may not know Solid very much, but most people know her basics. Solid is a Special A-class hunter who is completely immune to the maverick virus, as well as a bogeyman. Bogeymen are hunters that are supposed to scare and intimidate criminals as well as prospective criminals in a "This is what would happen to you if you break the law" kind of way.  
As a bogeyman, she scares enemies using her massive brute strength capabilities and brutality. She was part of the Red Alert Extermination squad in order to intimidate them into surrendering, but it didn't work.

"Whether you like it or not, you'll have to work with him in transmission-less missions in the future, because both of you are the only 100 percent immune reploids." I stated, to snap her back to reality. Sure, it's a bitter pill to swallow, but reality's something that everyone's got to deal with.  
She just nodded, and said nothing. Her head is still hung, I can't tell how her face looks like.  
"How are you feeling?" I asked, to get her to speak up a bit more. It'll be hard for her to deal with it, but she has to. Otherwise…

"Mixed." Solid answered. "On one hand, it's…nice, to get someone else to work with me. It's scary…being utterly…all alone in some place you don't know. But on the other hand, I…I feel really bad. I wronged him big time, and I'm…I'm really guilty." she explained, stuttering as her feelings weighed in on her.  
"He's a good person, Solid. Would you believe me if I said that he felt guilty about having killed a few hunters, himself?" I tried to assure her.  
"Maybe." she answered. "I don't know, I never really tried to talk to him."  
"I think this would be a good time to." I suggested, finally returning to the core idea I wanted to tell her about. "Right now he's in the medbay."

"What?" Solid blurted out, lifting her face a bit to look at me. Her gaze looks a bit unfocused, and her eyebrows are raised. "What happened?"  
I took a breath before I explained. "It's been a week since the Red Alert crisis was over, right? For the last week, Axl had assisted in a total of 14 maverick incidents." I started.  
"Wait. What?" Solid blurted out, louder this time. "Fourteen? In just seven days? That means…like, on average, 2 incidents per day?" she blubbered out, her eyes wide in complete disbelief.  
"Precisely." I huffed out. "Among the fourteen, he completed two missions all alone, only supervised by Alia.  
The first incident was just last week in an energy plant where the workers were infected and went maverick. They caused a massive riot. Axl showed up there and killed all of them.  
The second incident was in a port, three days ago. The mechaniloids there suddenly went berserk. Axl destroyed one of them that was blocking a ship's hatch and secured an escape route for the crew. There were 16 casualties, but it was much lower than the predicted 40."

She just stared at me like she's seen a ghost, speechless for about five seconds.  
"He's crazy." she commented, still with the same expression on her face.  
"Why so?" I questioned. True, it's kind of true that Axl can be considered kind of crazy, to a neutral observer like her. But I know better. I know his feelings, I know his dedication. I understand him, that's why he's not crazy to me.  
"He's working his ass off. One of these days, he'll just drop dead due to overworking." Solid answered—precisely the answer I want. We're getting closer to what I want to tell her…

"Exactly." I replied. "Look, we can agree to disagree when it comes to that part of him. To you, he's crazy. But to me, he's dedicated. But I agree with you that it's not healthy for him." I elaborated, finally telling her what I called her in here for.  
"I know, right? If he just keeps slaving himself away like that, he'll just be throwing his life away!" she added. "And for what?"  
"For redemption." I answered. "He really didn't like committing murder as a Red Alert assassin even though he did it to earn money for his family. That's why he decided to join the Hunters, so he can use his fighting abilities for good. He wants to defend society. Look, I think it's admirable, but that's exactly why I'm so worried about him." I explained.  
"Society will bleed him dry." she remarked.  
"That's what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid of him shrivelling away because of all the work he does. He fully intends to sacrifice himself for society, and that's why I need you to watch over him for me." I elaborated. Finally, I said it.

Solid buried her forehead into her right hand, and rubbed it.

"Oh my lord." Solid groaned. "Why me?"  
"Because you'll work with him a lot. You know there's a lot of areas we couldn't access because you don't have the abilities he has. I predict that you're going to have to revisit a few old areas with him, as well as go to whole new areas." I explained my reasoning, and connected the stuff we talked about earlier about Axl and Solid working together. "As much as I want to supervise him myself, I have my own work that I have to do."

Solid sighed. "I don't understand. Why would you want to throw your whole life away?" she questioned. "If it's a short period of intense volunteering, it's fine, but he's giving away his entire life. He's willingly throwing himself into a world of hurt and suffering. I don't like seeing people I care about get hurt, and then die way before I do, just after I've decided they're for keeps."

It was my turn to heave a sigh. The issue of outliving the people we love is a common one among higher-ranked hunters. Having hardened by years of battle, they've watched comrades die one by one by one. I was no different. I watched Zero die twice, and I experienced so many betrayals. Zero himself was no different, and so is Solid.

"I don't want to care about people who don't care about themselves." Solid stated, whining. "It's just going to hurt me."  
"That's why I'm asking you to get him to care about himself." I pressed my point—I don't just want her to watch over him in my stead, I want her to take care of him in my stead.  
"Why me?" Solid whined again, looking at me with pleading eyes.  
"What did you say again, before that?" I asked her.  
"I don't want to care about people who don't care about themselves." she repeated.  
"That's why I know I can trust you to do it."


	52. Epilogue 2: FLY

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Epilogue 2: Fly**

 ** _AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** _This epilogue is from Zero's perspective._

* * *

As soon as X and Solid left the private room in the lounge, I got off my chair in the public area of the lounge, having waited for them to finish so I can talk to X some more. X stood close to the private room door, while Solid left the lounge.

"So, how'd it go?" I asked X as I walked over to him, before following him into the room, shutting the door behind me afterwards.  
"Well." X answered, sitting comfortably on the chair, his back leaning against the back of the chair, convinced that he's succeeded. "Solid's guilty, but either way she doesn't seem to have any ill will towards Axl. And she agrees with me that his self-sacrificial nature and low-key self-deprecation is unhealthy. So she agreed to the deal." he explained.

I remember the day Axl was brought to the medbay after the port mechaniloid incident. He was utterly battered and he was cracked in many places. He had fought off the mechaniloid recklessly to make sure it focused on him instead of the crew until he managed to destroy it.  
When I first went to see Axl in the medbay, he was sad over how 16 of the ship's crew died, even though it wasn't his fault—but it was because the deceased had shielded their fellow crewmembers from the mechaniloid before Axl arrived. His response was quick, so he really didn't have to blame himself, but somehow he did.  
I know his feelings, but it's quite irritating for him to do that. But then again, he's a fresh recruit in maverick hunting—a job where you save lives for a living. I've accepted that sometimes you can't save everyone, but he's new at this whole thing. But still, he shouldn't beat himself up so much.  
I think I was irritated and angry because even though he was the one beating himself up, he's still getting hurt. And because I care about him, I don't like anyone hurting him; not even himself.

"Oh, tell me about it. An average of two incidents per day, and he wasn't even appointed yet. And now that his certificate is done…" I remarked, trailing off to look at Axl's certificate that is lying on the table before continuing. "He'll have to enjoy the sight of it in the medbay when you give it to him, because he's still recovering from yesterday's incident."

"I know, right? If he keeps that up, he's going to die early." X grumbled.  
"So, since we're done with this topic and it's Solid's job to worry about those things…actually, X, are you sure you're handing over that responsibility to someone else?" I questioned.

X really cares about Axl. Hell, I know he wants to take Axl under his wing, but why is he not doing it?

"We know I'd rather do it myself." X admitted.  
"But I have to remember what I learned from Anteator. He was right when he said that I tried to take on every burden. Every problem I want to solve, I always get myself involved, and I ended up being stretched too thin to actually accomplish anything, because I have too many goddamn projects and responsibilities at once and I end up accomplishing absolutely jack shit." he explained, getting angrier at the end, most likely at himself...here we go again. Well, X, you're not so different from Axl, you know.  
"X, you've learned, right? Calm down." I ordered him. I don't like it when someone I care about unnecessarily tear into themselves like that.  
"Yeah, Zero, thanks…" X huffed out. "So, yeah. I thought about the things I want to do, and then see how much I can chew. And then, I only pick the ones that only I can, or should do. The ones I can hand over to someone else, I'll have to trust that person to handle for me. In this case, since Solid will be Axl's future partner and will be working with him a lot, she's the best fit. I might shift it over once I know which unit he's gonna be in when Iris is done with the interviews and exams." he elaborated more.  
"What if Axl goes into the 0th Unit?" I said, half-teasing. Because not only was his stealth capabilities totally awesome when he snuck up on Sigma and showed us a nice surprise, it would also be nice and funny for him to get into my unit.  
"Then I'm gonna laugh my ass off and get real happy." X answered with a laugh. "But let's see what the council decides to say."

"So what are you going to do now, X?" I asked him. Surely, if he's sorted out the things he's decided to do, well, then he's sorted it out. And as a friend, I want to know.  
X chuckled for a while before listing it.  
"First things first…gotta clean up my mess. Commander Signas will keep me an S-rank until things have calmed down, then he'll allow me to return to B-rank. The Red Alert crisis gave a lot of room for other Red Alert wannabes in the criminal underworld to rise and cause more trouble, so I have to go bust some balls.  
So once I return to B-rank, I'm going to research this Dr. Albert Wily. He masterminded a long chain of robotic violence, and the robots of the past wouldn't have caused trouble if it weren't for this human professor. I'm going to write a thesis, a book, or whatever, about him and his deeds, so that the world can recognize that people, whether human or reploid, can do good and bad things and that we're not so different inside."

Well, I guess I won't be revealing myself as a Wilybot anytime soon. I don't want to be destroyed just by association. His sins aren't mine. But…

"What about his descendant, X? Dr. Rho Wily? You might ruin her reputation if you do that." I inquired.

Rosa Wily, known better by her nickname "Rho", was the one who unearthed his old laboratory and his journals, and cooperated with Dr. White Light—Dr. Thomas Light's descendant, to improve and humanize reploids.  
Actually, they're more like distant relatives, since neither professors ever married. But either way, exposing Albert Wily will unnecessarily ruin the reputation of Rosa Wily. Just like how Albert's sins aren't mine, they're not Rosa's, either.

"The world knows about Albert Wily's crimes already, and that's why she's fighting to redeem the Wily name." X stated. "What would the difference of re-stating the obvious mean?" he questioned.  
"X, people are stupid and panicky. The next thing you know, people everywhere in the world will be accusing Dr. Rho of being a second Doppler, when she's not." I reprimanded him.  
Crack theorists are everywhere, and stupid idiots who'd believe literally everybody and spread hoaxes around with the click of a mouse pointer are also everywhere.  
"Also, you just basically shot yourself in the foot. If she's fighting to redeem the Wily name with good deeds like how Axl's redeeming his bad past by doing good deeds, then why the hell would you shit all over her efforts and drag the Wily name back to Shitsburg?" I continued.

X tensed and leaned back against the back of his chair, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped low, and he looked like he had just seen hell.

"Oh. My. God." X blurted out. "Thank you so much, Zero, oh my god. I should find a different way to go about this…"  
"I think that if you ever want to write about Albert Wily, you have to ask Rho first. She has the ultimate right to his documents: Journals, blueprints and all that. You can't just write about someone's great-great something without their permission, even if they don't care." I advised him.  
"True, true…thinking back on it, if I write about Albert Wily's crimes, it wouldn't end up as an essay about how pointless racism is, but a book of hate directed to a dead man." X huffed out, having realised the implications of what he had decided to do.  
"Ah, yeah! I think I'll just gather more cases. Brilliant! The cases I analysed during my retirement will not go to waste. So all I need to do is just gather more material and compile it. Albert Wily is still relevant, but he is just one of many samples and that my essay will not be about him—because it isn't supposed to be." he elaborated after a light bulb went off in his head, beaming with joy all the way.

I smiled as I remembered the talk we had together when we had just defeated Anteator. X was so sad and angry at himself for his retirement.  
"I hate everything, Zero. I just wasted a lot of time in my retirement." X had made a jab at himself. "Everything I did…was for nothing. I shouldn't have retired. That way, all the blood and tears wouldn't have been shed. I was such an idiot…"

But now, seeing him beam with joy at the realization that it wasn't for nothing refreshed the both of us. I'm sure he feels like as if he's discovered an oasis in the middle of the desert, knowing that what he did in his retirement was not in vain after all. And as a friend, I share those feelings.

"Thank you, Zero." X thanked me with a big toothy grin on his face. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have come up with a better format."  
"Aw, X, hahah." I chuckled. "It's nothing. That's what a friend is for."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Big shout out to everybody who's given me constructive criticism, from Big Sis to  Hannaji/Moonchan to my reviewers and everyone else in and outside the internet. If you didn't point out the things I'm better off improving on, I wouldn't have gotten better. That said, I welcome any (polite) constructive criticism, as they are steps towards self-improvement. Change doesn't come easy, but if it's meant to come, then it will come._


	53. Epilogue 3: SWAY

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Epilogue 3: Sway**

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** I hope that by now you've noticed that unless stated otherwise, every chapter of the story is in Axl's perspective._  
 _Now, this epilogue is dedicated to BlueStar Palette, who said:_  
 _"Shinryuu- Chan my friend, I deeply thank you for making me cry from one eye. Now I can never stop hating that professor, he caused all that agony and pain to red alert! If he didn't exist red alert would be a big, happy family! And Axl won't be forced to kill his friends and family;~;"_

 _It was adorable, so I said:_  
 _"I think I should make a dream of what would've happened if the Professor didn't bother Red Alert. I won't write it into a full fic, but I'll at least make it a dream at some point, I think. I'll credit you for the inspo. Thank you so much! 8D"_

 _So here it is. Enjoy!_

* * *

"Hey, Axl."

Wait, what? It's Red? How can it be?

"Sorry we kept you waiting. We've finally finished our preparations." he continued.  
"Wha—Red? What preparations? What's going on? I don't…understand…" I blubbered out. He's supposed to be…dead. But why?  
"Hahah, guess you did sleep a long while." Red joked. "We're fighting together. All of us."  
"All…of us? Then…that Professor?" I questioned. Does that mean that everyone's alive? If so, is he still there to manipulate them, or?  
"Oh, him? We didn't trust him, so we decided to drive him out. Man, were we right to do that. He tried to attack when we decided to kick him out, but all ten of us ganged up on him and he died very quickly. Aaaah, it was glorious." Red explained what had apparently happened with the Professor.

Is this real? Oh, it feels so good!  
I don't know much on how to feel aside from happiness—even though I'm not in the Hunters, my family is still alive and uninfected.

"Come on, let's go." Red urged me, extending a hand to help me up. I took it, and got up on my feet.  
He led me to one of our halls, where all the Eight Generals were. Everyone's alive, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Anteator had gotten himself a shiny new body, even! Oh, this feels so good. Everyone's alive and healthy. But what about my brothers?  
"What about the unit members? Where are they now?" I asked.  
"We've strategized them accordingly, so they're positioned in the other halls." Red explained.  
"What are you, an idiot? We strategized together, you know." Warfly spat. He always took every chance to put me down—well, I know why he hates me and it's his problem, not mine; so I just let him be and not care.  
"Shut up." Gungaroo grumbled at Warfly, elbowing him. "Get a sense of team spirit."

I just let out a small laugh. At least we're all alive and well. In normal circumstances, I wouldn't be this happy hearing Warfly insult me. I guess that from this point on, I should learn to cherish the people around me while they're still alive, no matter how annoying they might be.

"Well, is everyone ready to rock?" Red addressed everybody.  
"Yes, Sir!" we replied loudly in unison.  
"Then let's go! This is war, and we're going to win it!" Red hollered.  
We cheered, lifting our arms together before we marched outside, and Red opened the gate of the Crimson Palace. The light floods our field of vision, while enthusiasm floods my heart.

I'm going to fight with my family together again today. No matter who the enemies are, I won't be afraid. I'll definitely crush them, and Red Alert will continue to prosper for years to come.

When the gates were fully opened, I could see the figures of the enemy in front of us. As we marched outside and walked closer, I can see them better…

Wait. What the everloving fuck?  
That's…X? In his Glide Armour? And Zero? Wha…what's going on? The Maverick Hunters are on the other side?

"Finally decided to come out, X?" Red taunted X. "For a second I thought you'd be a deadbeat retiree forever." he sneered. Wait, what? Wha…  
"I won't let you continue to operate any longer." X growled. "You sellswords make a living out of killing people! We've waited to crush you for so long, but at least from this I learned that my retirement wasn't in vain—it puffed up your ego so big, you think you can continue to turn lives into money, so you made yourself a bigger target. But it's over for you, and I will be the one to retire you!" he ranted out.

X, do you really hate us this much? Maybe you've hated me from the beginning for working in this kind of job…right?

"Hah, big talk, coming from a…retiree!" Red sneered again, emphasizing the word "retiree" in a mocking tone.  
The Eight Generals roared in laughter to add up to it, but I just…can't. Why are they…why are they fighting? I don't want this!  
"Heh. I guess even that failed assault was still useful." Zero chuckled. "You, the traumatized boy!" he addressed me. "We've got your assassin. Remember when your warehouse was ambushed? The one who almost killed you and killed half your unit is right here with us, and she's gonna kill you for real now!" he taunted me. It hurts so much…I idolize him and X, and now…  
"I don't think it's needed, Zero…because I think this is a good opportunity to show my determination." X declared as he pointed his charged buster at me, and fired. The charge shot was so bright and quick, like a comet, and then everything went black. Is this it? Am I going to die?

I rolled around, just to convince myself I'm alive. I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive, I should open my eyes now, I hope they're not damaged…

"Hey, Axl. Axl. Axl!"

Wait, what…? Zero…? What's going on? Why are you aiding an enemy…?  
I opened my eyes to see his worried face in front of me, and I could feel him gripping my upper arms and see X close to him, equally worried and horrified.

What…? What's going on?

"Axl, are you alright?" Zero asked, still holding me.  
"I…where is this?" I stuttered out.  
"You're in the medbay." X answered. "We just got into this room, and then we saw you rolling around the bed violently. Did you…have a nightmare?"

A nightmare?

"Zee, Zee." X called out to Zero. "Put him down."  
Without saying a word, Zero gently helped me sit down on the bed, and I looked around.  
Yeah, this is really the Maverick Hunters medbay, and X and Zero aren't my enemies.

I guess my family being alive and well is just a distant dream now. But still, even though it might be true that my family's death might just be for the best, I don't want to believe it. Hell, who the fuck wants to believe that their loved ones dying was for the best? Even if it's true, it's bullshit.  
But…what X and Zero said to me in that dream. It cut so deep, even if it's not true. I know it's not true, otherwise they wouldn't be visiting me right now, but it still hurts…it felt so real…

"Axl. Are you feeling okay?" X asked me, snapping out of my thoughts. "What happened?"  
"I…you're right." I sighed. "I had a nightmare. A horrible nightmare."  
"Tell me, what is it?" X requested, and Zero nodded.  
I trembled. I don't want to tell them that I dreamed that they're my enemies, but them asking me is proof that they care, so…

"I…It started off as a good dream at first. Red Alert and my unit were still alive, and they killed the Professor—Sigma, before he got his dirty hands on their DNA data. I saw their faces, they look really healthy. It was…a really sweet dream. We were going to fight together, but that's where it turned into a nightmare, because we were going to fight together in a war against…the Maverick Hunters.  
I…I was so scared, I never wanted my family to fight against the organisation I look up to. Red and X started saying horrible things to each other…and then…I…I'm sorry…X…X fired a charge shot at me. It hit me, and then…and then I woke up…" I explained, and stuttered at the end. How could I easily tell X and Zero that I had a nightmare of X shooting me?

Naturally, X and Zero look extremely horrified. X looked like he was about to cry. Zero covered his mouth with his hand, while X, with his hands behind his back, didn't.

"Axl…I'm sorry." Zero gently said, patting my shoulder before pulling me into a firm hug. "But it's alright. We won't ever hurt you. I promise."  
I gritted my teeth so I don't burst out into tears. It feels so good hearing that again, especially after so vividly hearing X and Zero hurling abuse at Red Alert…  
"I…same for me, Axl. I'm so, so sorry for being stupid that day. I won't do it again, and I hope you can forgive me for that." X choked out.  
I relaxed my body and returned Zero's hug as I closed my eyes. I feel safe now.  
"It's okay, X." I mumbled, still with my eyes closed. "I've chosen to put it behind me."  
"Your subconscious hasn't…" X muttered.  
"X, it's alright. Axl can't exactly control it, but we're all good now." Zero assured before he let me go. I then smiled at X just to make that point, and X grinned.

"Well, I have something that I know will cheer you up." X beamed, and revealed what he was hiding behind his back—a brown envelope. "Open it." he told me.  
I took the envelope and gently opened it. X and Zero watched me intently, smiling wide as they waited for me to take out the contents. And I pulled out…a certificate. It says:

"This certificate of acceptance to the Maverick Hunters is issued to Axl for his admirable dedication to protecting the people of the world."

W-wow…is…is this real?

"You're one of us now, Axl." X declared. "Congratulations!"  
"Originally you were supposed to be called to the command room so that Commander Signas can present it to you directly, but X requested to be the one to give it to you in person as a surprise." Zero explained, pausing to laugh.  
"Well, I guess it was for the best. The certificate was just finished today, and we can't exactly drag you all the way to the command room like this." he half-teased, gesturing at me.  
"So when you're all good, you're just going to see the Commander before you're interviewed and tested so we can see all of your abilities and see your rank. Remember Iris? She's going to be the one interviewing you and running your tests." he explained more, grinning afterwards. "She's really nice, so you'll definitely be okay."

Looking at the certificate, and then at X and Zero, I can't control my tears anymore. They flowed slowly, and I placed the certificate back into the envelope so that it doesn't get wet.

I'm okay. I have a future. I have lost my old life, but in turn, I have gained a new life. I am no longer a carp and I can no longer live with the carp, among the carp, like a carp. I am now a dragon, and I will live this new life to the fullest.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** HAHAHAHAHA HUAHUAHUAHUAHUA HUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE HUEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE AHUAHUAHUAHUAHUAUAHUA HUA!_  
 _TROLOLOLOLO LOLOLO LOLOLO HOHOHOHO! *Trumpet noises* LOLOLOLOLO LOLOLO LOLOLO HOHOHOHOHO! HOHOHOHOHO! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLO! HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! LOLOLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! LOLOLOOOOO LOOOOOO LO LO!  
U MAD?_  
 _Yes, as promised, I did make that possibility into a dream. But, well, if the Professor never ruined Red Alert, the conflict between Red Alert and the Maverick Hunters will continue and escalate to the point of an all-out war. So that's what happened. I figured it out already since 10 December 2015, but decided to keep it secret (Except for Hannaji) to surprise and troll ALL OF YOU._

 _Anyways, if you want to see how he got accepted, you can go read my first ever one-shot in FFN, We Want You. Putting it in here will be redundant, so I just didn't._


	54. Epilogue 4: DRAGON

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Epilogue 4: Dragon**

I spent so much time staring at the certificate with a great big smile on my face…I suppose. I don't know. I didn't really pay attention to the time, since I'm supposed to wait anyways. Right now it feels good, time is progressing so slowly and everything feels lazy and relaxing. I feel so happy. I feel that I've been washed clean, like a huge burden has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel that I can fly without wings. I want to hug that cert, but I might just crumple it.

A sudden knock on the door stopped my train of thoughts. I carefully slipped the cert into the envelope and put it on the bedside table before answering.  
"Yes, who is it?"  
"Can I come in?" a quite unfamiliar voice replied. Might just be one of the medics…but if so, they'd say so.  
"I need to know who it is first." I asked again. Why is this person refusing to introduce herself?  
"I'll…introduce myself later, when we see each other face-to-face." she said, sounding more nervous. Well, alright, I suppose.  
"Alright, come in." I replied.

The person opened the door—wait, who…is it that girl who kept staring at me back then? It's hard to recognize her when she's not wearing armour. Instead, she's just wearing the Maverick Hunters uniform shirt and a dress underneath. And she's carrying a plastic bag.

I narrowed my eyes. Why is she here? We're strangers. What reason does she have to come and visit me? Regardless, I can't be so spiky to a fellow hunter when I just got my certificate…when I narrowed my eyes, she shrunk, placing her hands in front of her chin in a protective manner, and backed away. I suppose it's a bad first impression, but I can't help but feel suspicious.

"It's okay. I won't bite." I assured her. Whatever she's coming here for, it shouldn't be to harm me. The Hunters wouldn't allow that. Even if she's harmful, I can just press the button to call the medics.  
"O…kay." she stuttered, still slightly intimidated. I guess I did intimidate her from the get-go, but her visit was really suspicious.  
"What is it that you came here for?" I asked.  
"Just…visiting. I heard…you've been working hard." she explained, stuttering. But I can't believe it.

To visit me, she has to know my name. Even if she just asks the receptionist and says, "that guy from Red Alert" or something, the receptionist will still need her to know my name for security purposes. We haven't even introduced ourselves yet, how would she know my name, and that I'm in the medbay? Worst-case scenario, she might just be stalking, but I can't jump to conclusions just yet.

"I see. Thanks. But is that really it?" I replied, and questioned, keeping my speech as un-intimidating as possible. It appears she's easily intimidated. I can't have her run out of this room crying or something, I'll get a bad rap less than 24 hours after being accepted. "Somehow…it's kind of funny. I haven't introduced myself yet, and somehow you know my name. It's like you know something I don't." I continued, giggling at the end to get her to perk up.  
She just smiled. It was a relief that it worked, and I didn't intimidate her further. "Can't get anything past you, can I? Yes, it's more than just a visit, and I do have some hidden knowledge. I know you're 100 percent immune to the maverick virus, like me." she started explaining. "So we'll work together in the future. My name's Solid." she continued, extending a hand for me to shake.

I shook her hand as I remembered the conversation when I got that virus test.

"He can use DNA data to transform himself and his guns, right?" Gate clarified. "About time we have a versatile hunter with us. Right now, we only have one person we send out to virus-thick areas for various purposes." Gate had said, before the virus test.

"What are those missions that virus-immune hunters go on, anyways?" I had asked, after I passed the virus test.  
"Well, after Eurasia's debris crashed, big parts of the Earth were contaminated with both pollution and a stronger strain of the Maverick virus. But they might contain valuable pre-Eurasia tech, and that's where you come in.  
And since the virus jams our transmission, we can't teleport you to the best spot. You have to walk all the way there, without supervision. And you also have to be very hardy to survive without anyone to help teleport you back if you ever get injured. These missions, mostly because of the walking, can take about a week.  
So because, that way, you've gotten used to navigation-less missions, we can send you to other transmission-less areas as well. Also, missions to virus-thick areas have the added benefit of clearing the mavericks, which are infected with, and transmit the virus, from the area, thus rendering it clean and habitable, for at least reploids. Those reploids will then terraform the area to make it habitable to all life forms." Signas explained.  
"You get to do this kind of job, Axl. So it's gonna be awesome." Douglas remarked, giving me a thumbs-up.  
"If we can complete the current operation, we'll know you're good enough for the job." Gate remarked.  
"I'll make sure we get there." I declared, giving him a thumbs-up.

I guess I've gotten here.  
"And this…" Solid said as she took out the contents of the plastic bag. "Is for you." she continued as she took out a red plastic envelope folder. "Just put your cert in there." she said, glancing at the cert in the brown envelope on the bedside table before putting the folder back into the plastic bag and handing it to me.

How did she know that I just got my cert? But, nevermind. I think she was informed by Alia or Iris that I've been accepted and we'll officially be working together when everything's sorted out. Or maybe she was asked to give me this by the Hunters. Maybe it's complimentary. But if it is, why don't I see the Maverick Hunters logo on it?

"Thank you." I thanked her as I took the plastic bag. "Is this complimentary?" I asked.  
She just shook her head. I looked at the plastic bag—it has the logo of a bookstore. She bought it?  
"You bought it?" I remarked, and she slowly nodded. "Thanks."  
"This is complimentary, though." she stated, tugging at the Hunters uniform shirt she was wearing. "I'm a size S. Here, try this on." she continued before taking the shirt off and giving it to me.

I just slipped it on and buttoned it up—it fits nicely. I guess it only makes sense. We're about the same size.

"They have long-sleeved versions and short-sleeved versions, just for aesthetics. Just pick whichever. The first 4 shirts are complimentary. If you need more, you need to pay a bit, unless it's because of mission damage or something." she explained.  
"What's the dress code?" I asked as I buttoned the shirt down. Oh yeah, I don't have any other clothes other than my armour right now…I wonder if my stuff in the Crimson Palace is still intact. It would be nice for me to get it back so I don't have to start over too much. But I don't even have a permanent room in the Hunters…  
"Everything as long as it's decent, and you have the shirt on. Like, obviously, you can't wear the shirt unbuttoned with nothing or just underwear underneath. But shorts are allowed, especially in hot weather." she explained more, and then I handed her shirt back to her, and she puts it back on.  
"Would the Hunters mind if I get my stuff back from the old place?" I asked, hoping she'd be able to ask the right person for me.

She leaned away, her eyes widened, her lips are pulled down—it's funny, her face looks like a monkey, I can't help but snicker.

"Are you omniscient or something?" she joked, laughing afterwards. "It's actually going to be our first mission together. The Hunters want us to investigate Sigma's laboratory. They had sent mechaniloids to check it out and see if it's full of viruses or not, and, well, it was. So they have no choice but to send us there.  
It's also a good starting mission for you since you know the place more than anyone else and the whole place is empty, so no threats. And it's, well, a good opportunity to get your stuff back." she explained.  
"Well. That's glad to hear." I replied, laughing afterwards as well. The people here sure are good…

Solid pulled a chair and sat in front of the bed, and then she started talking.  
"You'll be discharged this afternoon at, like, 3 PM, right? The tests will start at about 6 PM, and it'll continue tomorrow. There's also a session where you can get your specs scanned. You can just sleep through the scan, so you'll stay in the testing area overnight." she explained.  
"I see…" I replied. "Thanks. Is that all I need to know?"  
She nodded.  
"Thank you." I thanked her again, expecting her to excuse herself and leave, since she has no more business here, right? But I can't say "see you" just yet. What if she wasn't planning to leave? I'd look like I was shooing her away.

Solid went silent for a few seconds before speaking up again.  
"Hey…do you believe in destiny?" she asked that out of the blue. It's pretty weird, even for small talk, but I guess there's…not much harm in it. She doesn't look like someone who'd pick a fight out of nowhere. She's so easily intimidated.  
"Why do you ask?" I asked back.  
"I don't know, it's just…funny, how big things in life seem to be foreshadowed. The foreshadowing feels like nothing at first, but when the real thing comes in, you just…realize that you saw it coming." she remarked.  
"What, like when we passed by each other twice about a few weeks ago?" I remarked, half-joking.  
"Yeah." she answered, nodding with a weirdly forced smile in her face. Maybe our previous meetings left her with a sour taste? "Funny, isn't it? It feels like it's engineered. Like, I don't believe that there's a giant author up there penning our stories the way they want it, as if we're not truly in control of our own actions.  
I like to believe that it's more like…someone's taking care of us. Like, everyone has their own guardian angel or entity or whatever, protecting them while the person improves their own lives." she ranted.  
"Sounds like it happens to you often." I remarked.  
"Well. I can't say often since I don't count, but I know it's a recurring pattern for me." she answered. "What about you?" she asked back.  
"I don't count, either. And I never really thought about it." I answered truthfully, even if the conversation was kind of awkward.  
"I see…" she replied. "I'm sorry. It was a weird question to ask." she apologized, chuckling afterwards. Well, just as I was thinking that it was weird for her to talk about that to someone she just met. Maybe what she said was true.

"Well, that's it. I'm going back now." Solid excused herself, getting off the chair. "Take care. See you." she continued as she walked to the door.

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Remember when I said that PMGR has a sequel, but I'm reluctant to write it out and promise that I'll finish it due to length and noticeable OC content? Now you know what I'm talking about._


	55. Epilogue 5: SOAR

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Epilogue 5: Soar**

"Congratulations, Axl!" Iris beamed, holding yet another brown envelope in her hands. "According to our standards, you actually have A-class capabilities. But because you haven't had much experience as a hunter yet, you'll be a B-rank for now." she declared the results of the tests and interviews as she handed the envelope over to me. "The transcript is in there, if you'd like to see." she told me.

"Before I look at it, can you tell me about the ranks first? How do you judge Hunters?" I asked her.

"Okay, so we have a lot of hunters of varying abilities, right?" Iris asked a rhetorical question to start. "For example, X is a shooter who also uses unique weapons. Zero…hehe, well, Zero uses a variety of melee weapons. You should know already that he can handle not only his saber, but also polearms and he's also capable of hand-to-hand combat.  
But still, both are great hunters. You can't judge X by Zero's standards and vice versa. X can't swordfight the way Zero does, and Zero has horrible aim." she explained, using X and Zero as examples, and took a few seconds to giggle after she talked about Zero having horrible aim.  
"However, they're both capable of both retiring tons of mavericks alone, or together. Which brings us to another point; no matter what kind of hunter you are, you have to be able to work independently and with a team. If you can't work alone, then you won't survive if you're separated from your teammates or something. If you can't work with a team, then…well, you can imagine the disasters that can happen through horrible cooperation skills."

I nodded—it makes sense. It gives freedom for hunters to choose what they want to do and to be good at it instead of forcing weapons and fighting styles on them, but at the same time it also makes sure that everybody has the essentials.  
"And then?" I asked her to continue.

"So, based on how good you are at your own fighting styles, and how good you are at cooperating…well, we didn't have to conduct a lot of interviews, actually, since we've actually seen you in action. Our highest in-test rank is A, the lowest is D. So your combat score is A, judging from your aim, your stealth, your copy chip and your skills at handling all those. Your cooperation score is C, while your independence score is B. Your strategy score is also a B." she elaborated.

Hmm, that cooperation score was lower than I thought…I was expecting something like a B. But then again, I screwed up more than once, didn't I? First with the fight against Hyenard, and then Anteator…  
But, well, I did used to lead a team. Maybe it's in another score?

"What about leadership?" I asked. "Do you have criteria for those?"  
"Oh, yes, certainly." Iris answered. "We need to measure those to see who are suitable to be promoted to unit leader, or at least team leader or something like that. Your leadership score is a B. We know you used to lead and take good care of a unit, but we never really saw what actually happened."

Leading, yes. But taking good care? I'm starting to doubt it…but I like to believe I did. Otherwise, my brothers wouldn't have willingly sacrificed themselves for the sake of one person.

"So about our ranks, we just use a determined average of the whole thing. Like, it's not with maths, but analysis. For example, hunters with A-class combat skills but D-class cooperation skills will be considered a C. Hunters with A-class combat skills but D-class strategy skills will also be considered a C or even a D. You can't just throw your power around without thinking." Iris explained.  
"Hunters with D-class combat skills but A-class leadership skills might be considered for modding or to be positioned at a more strategic position instead of combat. We're all about putting our people in the best places." she added, smiling at the end.

"I see…thank you." I thanked her, smiling back. Zero's right, she is really nice.

"Oh, speaking of place. B-ranks and above are to join units. Yours is the 9th Special Forces Unit, because we can't restrict you to just one unit. Like, your stealth is great, so you can technically join Zero's…hehehe, 0th Shinobi Unit. But you have other skills that will be useful outside that unit. For example, your virus immunity and shapeshifting. That shapeshifting will make you useful for when one unit is short of one person, no matter which unit." Iris elaborated.

Special Forces? It sounds kind of funny…but still, I don't really know what this unit is all about.

"It's a unit for especially versatile people who can be useful to more than one unit, like you, for example. We also have another member who is both a bogeyman and a bomb engineer, so we can't put him in just one unit. It's also a unit for people whose skills are too specific.  
For example, we have assassins specialized for forest assassinations. This means they have to be more careful handling plants and wildlife as to not disturb them, and they also have to take care that the targets don't damage nature so much. They're more careful and skilful than average assassins, and their function is too specific for them to be in the 0th Unit, so they're in the 9th instead." she elaborated.  
"Tomorrow will be your first mission at 9 AM. B-ranks have the right to individual rooms as opposed to dorms, so I'll show you to your room—"

"Hey, Iris. Axl." Zero cut her off, waltzing into the scene, waving at us. "I'll do it." he offered.  
"What is it, Zero? Are you jealous?" Iris teased, smirking coyly.  
"Oh hell no." Zero cackled. "I was the one who first showed him to his first…erm, 'room'. So why not have a call-back?"  
"Well, good for you, because he looks like as if he's our son." Iris teased…or half-teased, whatever. That was weeeeeeeeird…! But, well, still kind of funny. "I know he's compatible with your saber, and he kind of looks like me! See?" she continued before standing next to me.  
"Yeah, I know you two have green eyes and similar hair colour, except his hair is redder and pineapple-r." Zero responded, giggling afterwards. I guess that pineapple joke is going to last for a loooong time… "As cute as it sounds, Iris, he's too old to even look like our son. Maybe your little brother."  
"You have a point…but I'd much rather have a son." she replied, smiling widely at Zero afterwards.  
"Yeah, yeah, what goes in the bedroom stays in the bedroom." Zero remarked, giggling afterwards again. "And I've got to take him to his bedroom, because he's filling it with his stuff tomorrow."  
"Alright, you two." Iris said as she walked away from us. "Take care."

That was what happened yesterday. Now I am standing in front of the command room. Alia is inside, and Commander Signas is present. Solid is standing a few meters beside me, wearing her full armour this time.

"So we finally have two virus-immune hunters as opposed to just one." Commander Signas noted. "This is a very good thing as Axl's skillsets will enable us to reach more places and lost technology. Just for a quick recap, Axl, you will be briefed on the transmission-less missions again. To start, can you tell us what you remember from what I told you?"

"Right…since we're both immune to the virus, we can go to places too contaminated with it for normal reploids to explore, and a lot of those virus-thick areas can possibly contain lost pre-Eurasia tech or knowledge that we can use. Those virus-thick areas are also transmission-less, so the both of us will go to those missions without any supervision because the virus blocks the transmission." I recited, recalling what I could.

"Correct. And because we can send you to transmission-less areas, we can send you to other transmission-less missions. Maybe it'll be rescuing missing people, scouting, or even average missions set in areas with signal jammers in place." Commander Signas added to my explanation.  
"It's very important for the both of you to cooperate, since we can't teleport you back to the base if you're too injured to continue. You have to walk back or drive back to signal area. If both of you die in the middle of a signal-less area…we won't be able to retrieve you." Commander Signas added again, his tone changing to be more sombre at the end, which makes sense. Unlike the usual hunters, we're on our own in a foreign place where they can't reach us…

"But since there's the two of you, provided you look after each other, you'll survive." Alia remarked, to tell the truth and lighten the mood. "Your skillsets complement each other very well.  
Solid's programming is different from the average reploid—for better or worse. It means that she can't get infected because it's a round-hole-and-square-peg scenario, but it also means that she can't get any additional unique weapons like you or X, so she's stuck with only melee fighting skills—her aim is poor. However, her brute strength is massive. She can easily punch through a wall.  
As for you, Axl, your copy chip prevents you from being infected because your physiology is different. It's another round-hole-and-square-peg scenario, and it also has the benefit of you having access to DNA data, making you very versatile. Your gun-fighting skills also helps you reach far away and flying enemies. However, to make way for shapeshifting and flexibility, you are more fragile than the average reploid and you can't take as many hits.  
It's very fortunate that we have the both of you here since you can make up for each other's flaws. Please make the best out of this." she elaborated, describing our strengths and weaknesses.

"Alright." I responded, saluting—like what I used to do in Red Alert—at Alia and Commander Signas. Solid bowed without saying anything.

"To start, the both of you will have a mission in the Crimson Palace to investigate Sigma's laboratory. We had tried sending mechaniloids there, but found out that the virus was too thick to investigate further, so we have no choice but to deploy the two of you. Well, it doesn't hurt. Axl knows the place and he can also get his things back if he'd like." Commander Signas explained, and we nodded.  
"Find and take back as many files as you can. If possible, please purge the source of the virus so that our R&D team can investigate. If there are guards or traps, please take care that the files and samples inside aren't damaged, unless there's a trigger mechanism that automatically destroys the laboratory if anyone ever breaks into it—in which case, there's nothing we can do about it."

"Unless…hmm. Axl, have you seen how Sigma unlocks the doors? If he used his own DNA data, you can unlock it without triggering any alarms he might have set up." Alia suggested.

"Unfortunately, he's figured it out already. So he used a passcode." I answered. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have destroyed his electronic brain. If we had recovered it, we could have figured out his motives and plans…but then again if he really is the source of the virus, just bringing it in might just infect the whole damn base. Oh well…

"You said that Sigma used to lock the door five times?" Alia questioned, her eyebrows raised and her eyes narrowed. I know, it's hard to believe for me, too.  
I nodded, before answering. "Yeah. Five locks."  
"That isn't just security…that's advanced security." she huffed out. "But no matter. This is it for mission briefing. If there are no questions, we'll teleport you back."  
"Don't we need any tools to break down that lock?" I asked, raising my hand.  
"No, we don't need to." Alia answered.  
I raised my eyebrows, but then glanced at the heavy-armour-clad Solid, and Alia did say she can punch through a wall. I guess I'll have to see if they're right about this.


	56. Epilogue 6: PHOENIX

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Epilogue 6: Phoenix**

After teleporting to the same area in the now-destroyed Crimson Palace road, we rode a ride chaser to get to the Crimson Palace—Mole Bore had destroyed a significant portion of it.  
We were riding a new, flying ride chaser model called Sirius. Red Alert's never had access to it before since Sirius is the first flying ride chaser ever developed, while the Hunters have been developing, testing and using it, so I had no choice but to let Solid drive for this mission.

I heaved a sigh as I looked at the scenery of the place I once called home. The Crimson Palace used to be a hub of activity. It was once filled with people and the roads were well-maintained. But now Red's deliberately destroyed it…well, it was probably not only so that we wouldn't turn back, but also to deter scavengers and robbers.

Hell, I would have hated it if someone tried to scavenge from Crimson Palace. If it was a poor person needing something to sell or something, I can tolerate it. But if they're impolite and disrespectful about it, then I…I can't shoot them. I still can't shoot them. As a maverick hunter, I can't just abuse my power. I am no longer an independent operative under an illegal organisation with no obligation to follow the law. I am now a government agent and I must abide by the law, even if I don't like it.

The palace is now quiet, even though the lights are on, because the solar power generators are still working. It only gives me the feeling that it's haunted. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but it would be a good thing if the spirits of the Red Alert members somehow gather around to stay there and "live" on.

But still, it's a sad sight. The Crimson Palace is no longer a palace; it's simply the shadow of one. In a way, this can be considered Red Alert's grave—not only literally, for Red and Anteator, at least, but also metaphorically. Gravestones are supposed to be the mark identifying a person's grave—proof of their existence and its end. There would be epithets describing who the person was. And now, the Crimson Palace is one giant statement of what Red Alert was, and the most important epithets are in a language that only I can understand: Our bond together.

Solid stopped when we reached the open gate, and gently landed the ride chaser down. I got off first, and she followed.  
She looked at me, but then looked away. She probably wanted to talk, but didn't know what to say, because I'm basically in quite a sad situation right now.  
"It's alright." I assured her with a smile. "It's over now. No point breaking down into a sobbing fit anymore. I'll lead you to the lab."  
She nodded with a small forced smile and stepped aside so that I could walk in front of her.

Sigma's laboratory was in the lowest floor of the basement. Fortunately, because the solar power generator was still working, so was the elevator. We quickly got to the lowest floor.

"You were in the laboratory a few times, right?" Solid finally spoke up—for the entire mission, she had been very quiet.  
"Yeah." I answered.  
"Have you ever seen traps or mechaniloids inside?" she asked.  
"No. I understand why Sigma wouldn't keep mechaniloids in if he was fiddling with his virus, because they'd go berserk. And for traps…no, I haven't even seen any works in progress, but who knows what he's hiding. I saw an entrance to his personal quarters in the lab, but I never got to get in there." I explained.  
Solid nodded. "I see…" she responded. "Okay. I just hope he didn't do anything funny impromptu."  
"Have you actually fought him before?" I asked. Maybe she knows something?  
Solid shook her head.  
"I see. Why, though?" I asked a bit more. I do know that a lot of the time, it's X and Zero who actually directly faced Sigma. But some hunters might have seen him or at least repelled him.  
"I just wasn't positioned to do it." she answered. "I've been in the Hunters for 10 years. Sigma hasn't appeared at all, until, well…yeah."  
I just nodded. It's been an awkward conversation. Thank goodness we arrived in front of the laboratory's tall thick steel five-times-locked door. There was a locking device that looks like a circle, and it's about our height.

"How are we going to do this?" I questioned with a huff. "None of us know the passcode, and I've never seen notes lying around as hints. Even when he opens the door, he types it in super fast."  
Solid said nothing and manifested a gigantic pair of gauntlets about twice the size of her own hands. "Turn off your ears and stand back." she ordered as she got into a fighting stance.  
"Whoa, whoa. What are you doing?" I asked. It's…is she going to break down the goddamn door?  
"I'm going to punch the fuck out of this door until it opens." she said in a weird tone that can only be replicated in animatronics or text-to-speech programs, giggling afterwards. "Engage the fucking lock, motherfucker."

I raised my eyebrows and let out an awkward "ha ha ha" laugh before turning off my auditory sensors and standing back. After she saw me, she then looked at the door.

And then she actually started punching the fuck out of the door. One punch dented the locking device enough for it to curve inside and crack. Another punch damaged it badly again to the point that the connection between the locking device and the door was starting to worsen. There were little gaps between the locking device and the door.

After that, blue claws appeared from the fingertips of Solid's gauntlets. She slipped the tips into the gaps, and then her fingers. Having slipped her hand into the gaps of the locking device, she gripped it, slammed her foot on the door while her other foot was on the floor, and pulled off the locking device in about 3 seconds, causing five locks to drop down to the floor one by one.  
But suddenly something pink that looks like a cucumber dropped in front of her feet, from the locking device. Having spotted the striking object, she threw away the locking device and picked the pink thing up.

I turned on my ears so that I can talk to her. "What's that?" I asked, hoping she turned her ears on as well.  
She said nothing—maybe she didn't hear me?—for one second. She just stared at the object. I think I should peek…

But then she shrieked loudly and threw it behind her, and I caught it. It was a pink dragon dildo.

Wow. Sigma, you dirty, depraved piece of shit.

"This should go into our files." I joked while Solid made "buh-huh-huh" noises.  
"No." she retorted—guess she turned her ears back on, after all.  
"Who knows he's into anal?" I joked a bit more, because oh my god, it's so unexpected, I don't think I'll ever forget it.  
"How much are you willing to bet that we'll find tons of lube?" she added to the joke. Well, nice to know that she's not squeamish about sex jokes. "And probably porn."  
"I'll leave it for the R&D team to discover for themselves." I replied. "Can you open the door?" I asked, pointing at the still-intact door, because it's a sliding door, not a door that I can just push.

"Please turn your ears off again." she requested as she stepped back a few times before glancing at me. I did so, and when I'm done, I gave her a thumbs-up. And then, she charged at the door, body-slamming it. It was dented to a curve, and then she took out a blue saber with a slightly slanted blade, unlike Zero's straight Z-Saber, and carved the door open. She threw the door pieces outside so that it won't land on anything fragile inside.

Seeing the interior of Sigma's laboratory again, I turned my ears back on, and she did the same.

When we got in there, there was a lot of laboratory equipment we don't know. I do, though, know the big mounted capsule in the centre of the room—hell, I've been inside that thing. The virus might be inside. There are also a lot of research notes.  
Having been used to these kinds of missions, Solid took out an old backpack from her container program with plastic bags inside, and shoved the research notes into a plastic bag before shoving the bag into the backpack.

"Can I have one of those plastic bags?" I asked. I don't intend to watch as she shovels documents into her backpack.  
"Sure." she replied, showing the inside of her backpack, with a few folded bags inside. I took three.  
"You search the lab, I search the personal quarters." I ordered. She just nodded and continued to look around for things she thinks she could collect.

With three bags in my hand, I opened the door to Sigma's personal quarters. On the bedside table, there was a journal. I opened the book and started reading—or, to be precise, skimming.

The first page of the book read something like:  
"I'm still not used to the body Gate had provided for me, and the new name he told me to assume for now: "Isoc". Now I'm just waiting for Gate to build me a body that resembles Sigma's. Actually, I think I've had quite a rich history concerning bodies. After I died as a human and had my consciousness digitized, I then approached Sigma and shared a body with him. But then he drove me away before starting the Repliforce crisis. For the first time in forever, I actually have a body of my own. Autonomy feels good. But because of having shared a body with Sigma for so long, in the end it's his specs I'm most comfortable with."

Wait, so the Professor's not Sigma? Then who is this professor, then?

I quickly flipped around the pages of the book, hoping to find any instances where he referred to himself with his real name.

It was only in the inside of the back cover of the book that I found his real name: "Albert W. Wily".  
So this is the person who destroyed my life and killed my family? Then, a criminal like this…I so want to do the same to him. Destroy his family, see how he likes it. I'm sure they're just as horrible as he was, right?  
I know I shouldn't abuse my power. But I can, through non-violence, show the truth to the whole world. Expose this person, shame his name and everyone who dares to stand by him.

I'm going to keep this journal and study as much as I can about him, so I'm not keeping it in the plastic bag. I'm keeping it in my own container program, so I don't have to give it to anybody else. I activated it and watched the journal de-manifest…

"What's that?"

Oh god, was that Solid?  
I looked behind me—and her face is right in front of mine!

"Wh-whah—" I stuttered out. Holy shit, that was some jump scare. "What is it?" I asked.  
"No, what is that book?" she insisted on asking her question. "Can I see?"

Oh dammit. If she sees it, she'll hand it over to the Hunters, and I won't be able to study it…or will I? They have archives for this kind of thing, right? If I don't hand it over, I'd look suspicious.

I manifested the book again and handed it to her. "Here you go." I said, as she took it.  
She flipped through the book like I did, and inspected the inside covers…and saw the Professor's real name.

The moment she saw it, her eyes bulged, and she skipped away to where she put her backpack, and shoved the book in there!

"Where is that book going to go?" I questioned. I need to read it…I need to know where it's going.  
"Why do you ask?" she asked back. What's her problem? This is irritating. She said she had never had any business with Sigma, then why is she treating it like it's very personal to her? I'm the one who's got business with Sigma or Wily or whatever!  
"Because I want to study this Albert Wily, that's why. I'm going to expose his crimes to make sure that no one's going to be his victims ever again. He died once as a human, but lived again as a reploid. It might not be the end for him." I elaborated. Thank goodness I read the first page…  
Solid narrowed her eyes and glared at me. Is she actually going to pick a fight? "No." she replied. "You're not going to."

Alright, I admit that I do have my own personal, malicious motives. But still, if no one knows who this Albert Wily is while he continues to terrorise people, someone's going to suffer the same fate as me someday! And why can't she understand that?

"So you're just going to let him ruin the lives of the people, is that it?" I growled.  
"Do you know of Rho Wily? Rosa Wily?" she asked, all of a sudden.

Well. I admit, I have heard of her. Actually, everyone and their dog have heard of her and her scientific partner, White Light. Both of them humanized reploids, enabling them to eat, drink, and even have sex—but reploids still can't get pregnant like humans, and they don't need to excrete because everything they ingest turn into pure energy. She is a great scientist, but Rosa Wily is not Albert Wily.  
Sure, it might dent her reputation a bit, but she's never done anything wrong. Besides, a little reputation dent is a bargain for the lives we can potentially save by exposing Albert Wily.

"Everybody does." I answered, folding my arms. "But Rosa Wily is not Albert Wily. If we expose Albert, then maybe her rep will drop a bit, but if we can save lots of people, then it's worth it."  
Solid glared at me and gritted her teeth, making her look like a wild animal. I just glared back. She's not going to intimidate me.

"Do you know what she's doing? She's trying to redeem the Wily name! I know her very well…personally. She fought to proudly wear the name "Wily", because this Albert Wily was the person who broke her family before she was born. She had a different last name, but her family was still the Wily family, and she wanted them to wear their true names with pride.  
That's why she got into robotics, that's why she improved reploids, under the Wily name! And did you know what it cost her? Her family actually disowned her to stay away from the Wily name. Sure, they didn't like it, but they had to do it for their own safety!" Solid ranted out, her voice raised.  
"Who gives a shit?" I yelled back at her. "Are you going to let a lot of people die just for one person? She's not the only one who lost her family to this Albert Wily! I did!"  
"You destroyed his body's electronic brain, right?" she questioned. "Then he's gone. Dead. No more Sigma-Albert Wily mashup. He's not gonna kill anyone anymore." she stated, growling.

I just bit my lip hard. It's technically true. But didn't Albert Wily digitize his consciousness a long time ago?

"Did you read the first page?" I sneered. "He digitized his consciousness. He can just hijack somebody."  
"He's been around before we were born, and until now, has anybody ever recognized him as Wily? Can anybody tell?" Solid argued back. "And even if we do spread around that, 'oh, Albert Wily's the one who's been going after reploids and turning them maverick', what's it gonna do? His human body is dead and you killed his reploid body! What can we do if the world knows his name? Chances are, it's just going to shit all over Professor Rho's reputation, for absolutely nothing! And then she'll be forbidden to ever practice robotics, and who knows what else!" she ranted again, emphasizing the word "nothing".

I just went silent, thinking of another argument. I didn't think it through—it's not my job to investigate or know how viruses work, but I think that if we get the truths out, it's one step to solving the problem. Well, I admit that revenge is a big part of it, but it's justified if we're talking about someone who'd hurt people if let be.

"Is her reputation and ability to practice robotics really worth that much?" I questioned, sneering. If it's really worth it, then explain it to me.  
"Professor Rho was the one who excavated Albert Wily's laboratory. She's got all his data, all his tech. And since we know that this Professor is Albert Wily, Professor Rho is going to make it right. She's going to get this journal and every document in here, and sort it out. And if you ever ruin her, nothing is going to be right." Solid answered, still with an angry tone.

I just heaved a huge sigh before putting out the final word. I lost the argument, and it's very irritating for me—I hate losing. No one does. But at least having the last word will make me feel a bit better.

"She better make it right."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** This chapter contains Five Nights at Fuckboy's 1 and 2 references. I love FNAFB. eue also, writing the argument part actually gave me a headache. I never liked verbal fights, especially if yelling is involved. I really thank one of my pre-rewrite reviewers,  The Jolly Bounty, for giving me the criticism that led to this idea. From them, I learned that I shouldn't spoil plot points early, even if I'm not planning on exposing them at the moment. But for PMGR's sequel, though, I'm certainly doubtful (lol) if I'm writing it out. Spoilers are out on my deviantART already anyways.  
_

 _Also, Hannaji/Moonchan, with all the talk of Rho, Lambda's basically talking shit about his mom. But in his defense, he didn't know._


	57. Epilogue 7: DANCE

**PAINT MY GOODBYE RED**  
 **Epilogue 7: Dance**

We spent about a minute calming ourselves down, drawing slow, deep breaths after that heated argument. Seriously, did she have to yell first? I may have nonchalantly, insensitively said that if it could possibly mean the good of the rest of society, a drop in Rho Wily's reputation was worth it. But I didn't know that she's close to Rho. She really didn't have to yell.

All of a sudden, Solid twitched and trembled. And then, she hung her head for a few seconds before slowly looking up to face me.

"I'm sorry." she sighed. "I yelled at you. I shouldn't have done that."

Well, okay. At least she acknowledges it.

I just sighed back, and responded. "Well, alright. I just…I didn't know you were close to her and she's been trying to defend her family's right to wear their name proudly instead of abandoning it. But if she can fix this, then she can take all of it."

Then again, what was I thinking when I was so insistent on having my revenge? Revenge won't bring back Red Alert. And even if they're brought back, what will I do? Abandon the Hunters and become a paid assassin once again? Or stay with the Hunters, knowing that I'll need to kill my family again one day? I'd rather not make the choice.  
In my defense, I never knew that Rho Wily might be able to solve whatever problem this Albert Wily had caused. But still, now that I know everything, I feel stupid.

Looking back at the situation, I suppose I have something in common with Prof. Rho Wily. Both of us came from families that society doesn't exactly like, but we do our best to clean the bad reputation off us anyways. I suppose she was doing almost the same thing as me. Except I was saving my own skin, and she was saving the dignity of her family.

Hearing my words, Solid slowly nodded, but went silent afterwards, for a few seconds. And then, she looked around Sigma's—Albert Wily's laboratory.

"Come to think of it…" she spoke up. "If Prof. Rho is coming in here to check everything out…let's just leave with the most important things as samples."  
"But aren't we supposed to take as many files as we can?" I asked. Indeed, that was what Commander Signas said.  
"Life isn't about what's supposed to happen. It's about what does." Solid quipped with a small smile—well, that sounds cheesy. "Well, okay. That was corny. But basically, it's not so set in stone. We can just take back the journal to prove that it's Prof. Rho's right to investigate the rest. The virus isn't going to affect her one bit." she explained.

After Solid placed the research notes back to where she took them from, and her backpack into her container program, we walked to the ground floor, where the signal is strong enough to communicate with, but not strong enough to teleport with.

"So, how's it going, guys?" Alia asked us as soon as we showed up again in their radar.  
"That lab…actually. The Sigma we were facing was actually Dr. Albert Wily." Solid explained, cutting right to the chase.  
"W-what?" Alia croaked—the truth didn't make sense to her. Well, I can't blame her. It didn't make sense to me at first, either.  
"Albert Wily, Professor Rosa Wily's ancestor." Solid added. "Apparently, this Albert Wily was the Sigma we were fighting. Axl read part of the journal, and I saw a bit, too." Solid continued to explain. "Since this Albert Wily is her ancestor, then Prof. Rho would have the right to that laboratory." she stated.

Alia just huffed out a sigh.

"That's complicated…you'll need to talk to Commander Signas when you come back, since you'll also have to bridge communications between him and Prof. Rho." Alia noted. "So, what did you do? What did you take?" she asked.

"Solid broke down the door. I found the journal, and we left the lab as it is, except, well, we took the journal, and that's it. It's proof that Prof. Rho has the right to the whole laboratory." I answered, sighing afterwards. Maybe if I had been a robotics engineer or scientist, I could've been more involved in solving this problem. But no matter. I can solve other problems that engineers and scientists can't solve.

"I see…alright, then. We're all trying to process this. So the only other thing to do is for Axl to get his things back, right?" Alia confirmed.  
"Yeah." I answered.  
"Where are the living quarters? If it's in signal zone, then you can just go there alone, while Solid can just get back here and discuss the matter with Commander Signas." Alia asked.  
"It's in the upper floors." I stated. It would be convenient if the Hunters' signal can reach it…  
"Yeah, the signal's stronger up there. Solid, you just ride back home. Axl, you just get your things. When you're done, we'll get someone to pick you up and get you to signal zone. The signal up there isn't strong enough for me to teleport you back, but I can still supervise you." Alia ordered.  
"Alright." Solid said, nodding.

Afterwards, we made our way to the elevator. When it stopped at the ground floor, Solid said, "Bye, Axl. See you later." before leaving for the exit. After she's left, the elevator moved to the higher floors, where my old room is.  
Indeed, the living quarters were intact. Dusty, dim-lit and dreary, but not damaged at all. Like the rest of the Crimson Palace's surroundings, it's become a sad sight. The corridor used to be bustling with people. It was brightly lit and well-kept. Red Alert members would walk around minding their own business, some saying hi to each other as they pass by. But now it's just empty, and abandoned.  
I wonder, would it be better if it wasn't Red Alert that this Sigma, or Wily, or whatever ruined, but someone else? But I guess there's no use thinking about that. Otherwise I might just end up wishing the suffering I had experienced on someone else after simmering in so much negativity, and that's just bullshit.

I walked to my room—it had become a habit after 10 years of living in here. But now, it's most likely going to be the last time, unless the bags and suitcases in my room aren't enough to carry everything in one go. But I don't think I'll carry everything. I can already estimate how much I should carry. After I got my transcript, Zero did lead me to my room, and I know its size.

After I opened the door to my room, I smiled at the sight of the room I'm going to leave forever. It looks just like when I left it. But unlike in the past, I didn't tell myself "I'm home" when I entered it. After I've left this room, when I enter my new room in my new home, Maverick Hunters HQ, it's when I will tell myself, "I'm home".

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Well, this is it. Paint My Goodbye Red, my first multi-chapter fic, is officially done. 40 chapters, 1 prologue, 7-part epilogues, 8 bonus chapters. It's been a long way, but I made it to the finish line. I'd like to thank everybody for supporting me. Whether you reviewed, read, PM'd, critiqued...it helped me get this far. I may have written this for myself from the beginning to end, but I am happy that this selfish endeavour made you happy, too. _

_The end made me want to cry, especially considering the callback to the prologue where Axl said goodbye to the Crimson Palace, which he had called home at the time. Now, he's made his peace with leaving Crimson Palace and Red Alert...much like how I am at the moment. I've made my peace that I will leave Singapore for Indonesia, from my old life as a student to my new life as a working adult._

 _There's a lot more to say about this fic, but I'll upload an afterword for all those things. Right now, let's all celebrate the completion of PMGR, after almost a year of being written._


	58. Afterword

**AFTERWORD**

It's been a long journey, isn't it?

Paint My Goodbye Red started out of the blue at 5 AM. The scenes from Hyenard's fight and the prologue didn't stop invading me. I couldn't sleep. I had been holding those scenes in my head for some time now. I had hoped that if I had continued, they'd stop haunting me. But they didn't. That was when I decided, in order to free myself from that so-called "torment", I have to write it out. And, once I start, I have to carry on to the end. And thank goodness, I have carried on to the end.

I think Axl's journey in X7 also started out of the blue. In PMGR at least, he was tormented by nightmares and guilt after Sigma/Wily forced him and Red to kill an entire research lab full of innocent humans and reploids. To escape that torment, and many more other torments, he decided to make the decision that would change his life forever. Funny, isn't it, how art imitates life?

In turn, life also imitated art. If you read through my author's notes and follow how they proceed as the chapter goes as if you're reading a story within the story (Or the story outside the story, whatever you like), you'd notice that I noticed that the progression of my life also imitated PMGR.

When I first started writing PMGR on the 31st of May last year, I was a student—a university student studying in Singapore. I was content living in such a life. Even though it wouldn't last because I would have to graduate and get a job someday, I was quite happy. Things were stable. I know the short-term future. I had no big worries aside from assignments, which I can always handle because I was a hardworking student.

I suppose that was what life was for Axl before Sigma came along. Even though he hated what he was doing, life was good enough for him. He may have decided to one day change from a murderer to a defender of society, so that life wasn't meant to last, but he enjoyed it nevertheless. Things were also nice and stable for him; he had routines and a family around him. He could always handle any jobs thrown his way because he's a hard worker who does his best every day.

And then, time passed.

As time passed, I advanced further into my studies, and further into PMGR as well. There was change—I rewrote PMGR when my Big Sis pointed out that it could have been so much better. I used to follow X7's script to the letter, and holy hell, do I hate the previous version of PMGR, even though I can only remember it in bits and pieces. I deleted 12 chapters that I had painstakingly—at the time—written, and learned from Big Sis, on how to write better. And boy, did I improve.  
Meanwhile, Axl changed as well. He was captain of a unit, but after he lost his unit and ran away to the Hunters to start new, he had to learn how to work with X and Zero—work with maverick hunters, as maverick hunters. And as he fought with them, as he made mistakes, as he watched them make mistakes, he learned.

As time passed, the time I have left as a student living a student's life slowly passed as well. And for Axl, as PMGR moved forward, his old life progressively faded away right in front of his own eyes. There was struggle—I had to deal with the struggles of finding a job in Singapore as a foreigner from a university not eligible for a long-term job-seeking-student pass.  
As for Axl, he struggled to deal with the sadness of watching as your old life was violently destroyed in front of you, in one of the worst ways possible. He had to learn to say goodbye without much preparation. He had to deal with watching the vision of the future he had dreamed of disappear forever. He had to move on really quickly.

Even more time passed. Both me and Axl, as we move forward, we encounter issues and deal with them. There were tears and agony going on for the both of us at the same time, even though we live in different planes of existence. Both of us fought for our future and for our sanity. We cried. We broke down. But still, we fought.

In the end, both me and Axl attained the same ending: We found a good job—a job where our hearts belong, which cost our old life to get. But that new job came with a whole new life well worth the sacrifice. We carved a future for ourselves. We fought, and we have won. We have been reborn as new people at the end of the day, with minimal regrets.

Just like how a carp can transform into a dragon after working so hard to jump over the Dragon's Gate, we have become new, more powerful people with more responsibilities than the smaller people we were.

I suppose PMGR, and Megaman X7 itself, can be considered a whole story of transformation. The theme of "transforming" is a pretty significant one through the whole game.

Axl is a shapeshifting reploid who can transform.  
And at the end of the game, his ability also transformed—in an early cutscene (Even though I tinkered with it a bit in the end to keep the storyline consistent—X7 wasn't well-written), he explicitly said he couldn't transform into reploids too much bigger than him, but the ending cutscene showed him transforming into Red, someone about twice his size.  
Meanwhile, his whole life also transformed. He was a mercenary—an operative of an independent organisation outside the law, and then he became a maverick hunter, a government agent.  
And in turn, he also transformed X and Zero's life as well. By X8, two had become three. X and Zero earned a new companion in Axl.

But we can't ignore that those positive transformations came at a cost. Just like how shapeshifting consumes weapon energy in-game, the other transformations also came with a cost. By changing, you abandon the old to embrace the new. Even though you'll be better off in the end, there are things that you love that you must let go of, that you must say goodbye to. And this will go on as we grow older.

Nothing in life is constant except for change.

I will be 20 this year. In 2016, I will no longer be a teenager. Even if I am a child at heart, I can no longer live the life of a child. I will have to say goodbye to the more carefree life of a student, which was comfortable when it lasted.  
And I won't be the only one experiencing change and saying goodbyes to the little things in my old lives. One day, we'll change. We'll grow older. We'll lose, and we'll gain. People will come and go. We'll say goodbye to things we used to have and love as time passes by, as life goes on. But it will be okay in the end. We will constantly be reborn as we grow older.

Age isn't just a number. It's a statement of how long we have survived in this world. It's a statement of how long we're able to last in this world, suffering from one painful goodbye after another as we go on until we finally pronounce the story of our life over. By the time the story of my life is over, I want to pronounce its end with no regrets. I wish the same for all of you as well.

With this sentence, I pronounce that PMGR is over and done. Thank you very much for sticking with me through this selfish endeavour, and I wish the best for all your selfish endeavours as well.


	59. What's next?

**WHAT'S NEXT?  
** _Written 4 May 2016 **  
**_

It took me 11 months + 3 days to finish PMGR.

I have changed from a student to a working adult, and PMGR is now officially finished.  
But one thing hasn't changed: I'm still a huge Axl nut.

So what's going on now? What am I going to do from this point on?

First things first, the time I have will no longer be structured the way it used to be when I was still in school. Now I have actual routines, in contrast to my school's chaotic schedule, if it can be called that in the first place. I need to change my habits and my way of time management. But as I slowly transition from my old life to my new life, I'll of course do something fun and productive with my spare time. Writing is one of them.

Besides writing, I also draw. And actually, drawing is my main "activity". Writing is my secondary. I haven't drawn for a long time...I should come back to it. So I won't be actively writing anytime soon, I think. But it's subject to change. The illustrator in me is more finicky than the writer in me.  
But it doesn't mean I won't write at all. I have a few personal short stories, as well as another fic on FFN, **The Voice in Your Heart** , that I will also finish. It's another Axl fic, but it's set in a different timeline than PMGR. For example, PMGR's Axl and TViYH's Axl got their scars from different people, and they have different personalities. So if you do get around to reading TViYH, please don't consider it PMGR's sequel, because it's not.

Speaking of PMGR's sequel, I do have one in my personal archives. Like, I didn't write it out. But I know how the story goes. It's called Megaman XPosition, and, alternatively, by its working name, Megaman X7.5. But before I go on about MMXP, I'll need to explain the timelines first.

I have two timelines:  
Lamed Vav Tzadikim, Lamed for short (PMGR's timeline. A timeline that leads to a happy ending that doesn't follow the original Megaman canon, as in MMC - MMX - Lamed ending)  
Kali Yuga (TViYH's timeline. A timeline that leads to the canon storyline of the franchise, as in MMC - MMX - MMZ - MMZX - MMZXA - Legends)

Paint My Goodbye Red is Lamed's X7. Kali Yuga obviously has its own X7, different from PMGR, but it's not established yet.  
What I mean by established is that I know how the story goes and that I'm not leaving it "ambiguous, aside from the important bits from canon". For Lamed, I have X4, X7, X8, XCM, part of X3, and part of X6 established.

MMXP/MMX7.5 is what fills the gap between Lamed's X7 (PMGR) and Lamed's X8, which is called **Denying Exodus: Agape, Treachery, Hearts**. But I don't think I'll be writing it anytime soon, because in order for DE:ATH to be understood, I have to write out all of MMXP, which is too damn long for me to guarantee its completion. It encompasses all the character arcs of X, Zero, Axl, Solid, and the rest of my OCs: The 9th Special Forces Unit, as well as professors Rosa "Rho" Wily and White Light.

So there you go. You know that PMGR has a sequel, and you know what it is, along with a brief summary of my full "showcase" of MMX-related creations.

So, TL;DR/summary!

1\. PMGR is over after 11 months + 3 days! During that time I've changed from a student to an adult, and I'll need to adjust accordingly.  
2\. But even as an adult, I like having fun, and making art is fun to me. I write and draw, although I primarily draw. I haven't drawn for a long time, so I should come back to it. But that might not be guaranteed as I'm more finicky when it comes to drawing, compared to writing.  
3\. As for writing, though, I don't think I'll be writing a new fic anytime soon. I still have my personal short stories and an ongoing fic, TViYH, to complete. TViYH is not PMGR's sequel.  
4\. Speaking of PMGR's sequel, yes, I do have a sequel of it, called MMXP. But because it's so long, I don't think I'll be writing it out here and promise that I'll finish it.  
5\. Please be aware that MMXP isn't supposed to lead to the canon storyline. If you want canon, go look at Kali Yuga, TViYH's timeline.  
6\. I don't just have PMGR and TViYH. I have a much bigger MMX "gallery" composed of two timelines.

With that, I declare that I will no longer update the PMGR story on FFN. Story's done, afterword's done, and both of us know where I'm going now that PMGR's done. I wish FFN has journals like deviantART, but eh, this will do.  
Oh, speaking of deviantART! More of my stories and its details can be viewed in my deviantART, Shinryuu-Uroborus. If you FFN people want to communicate with me, please tell me you're from FFN and you heard of me from PMGR, otherwise I might get confused. If you have reviewed me or PM'd me before, please tell me your username.

Feel free to leave a review on your final thoughts of PMGR, I'd love to read it. Once again, thank you so much for walking through this almost-a-year journey with me!


	60. The REAL Last Update

Remember last time when I said that I won't be updating PMGR anymore?  
Well...I'm going to say it again, for real this time. I'm...well, updating it, but this time it really is the last time. Honest.

 **Why am I updating it once again?**  
Because I kept seeing "Chapters: 59" and the 59 is really bugging me. I wanted it to be 60. And then I remembered that this exists.

 **What is this, then?**  
If you saw the "Ignore this" "chapter" or you are a pre-rewrite reader, then you'd know that there used to be an "Important Notice" which I had deleted to avoid spoiling anyone any longer. This is the "Important Notice" that I had removed, just edited a bit.

 **If I removed it, then why am I uploading it?**  
So that some things in PMGR will make a bit more sense. Also because I am certainly uncertain (pfft) that I won't write Megaman XPosition, PMGR's sequel, because omg it's so long.  
Okay, you can get to reading now.

* * *

This fic goes with my personal headcanon in regards to the Maverick virus and what it is. I have to confirm my definition of the Maverick virus so that people don't get confused when I (or Axl) refer to effects of the virus that do not match with how they see it or something.

I have to put it in a separate section instead of within Chapter 4, because it's way too long to fit into an Author's Notes section.

The Maverick virus is Wily's digitized consciousness. Initially, Wily built Zero to be his manservant to aid him in the process of defeating Light. But Zero was so uncontrollable that Wily had to use the virus (This sentence is canon). In the end, Wily settled for making Zero his "robot body" instead. When Sigma found "Zero" (Wily in Zero's body), he was beaten up because Wily was getting used to his new body and powers. But Sigma damaging Zero's head crystal caused the virus/Wily's consciousness to leave Zero's body, allowing Zero to live as himself and develop his own personality.

Meanwhile, the Maverick virus continued to spread. Sigma used the chaos caused by the virus to kickstart his own agenda in MHX. But over time, the virus consumes him.

What exactly does the Maverick virus do? In canon, reploids infected by the virus go insane and violent. I interpret this as the result of Wily successfully possessing the body. Some reploids manage to struggle with the possession for some time, but most succumb to it.

Sigma didn't get infected at first, but eventually he got infected. However, instead of succumbing to Wily's possession or outright shooing him out of his body, the two decided to cooperate. This is why Sigma kept coming back; Wily kept rebuilding him. However, after cooperating in X2 and X3 (Wily rebuilt Sigma after X1, X2, and X3), Sigma shooed Wily away because his cooperation with Wily wasn't giving him what he wanted. Wily left him anyways because he wasn't satisfied with Sigma losing to the Hunters twice after their cooperation, and decided to go convince Zero to obey him, believing that Zero will lead him to victory. That's why Zero got his nightmares prior to X4, and not, say, in X2 or something. And as for X4, Sigma masterminded it all on his own.

Sigma was completely destroyed in X5 (Sigma was rebuilt before X5 by some remnants of the Repliforce), along with all semblance of his personality.

Gate found Zero's remains (Which had absorbed the virus, but Zero didn't end up awakening), and Wily convinced Gate to work with him like what happened with Sigma. But Wily didn't mutate Gate's electronic brain into a virus, unlike what he did to Sigma, instead convincing Gate to build him a physical body, hence Isoc's existence. This results in Gate developing the Nightmare virus, which is basically a variation of the Maverick/Sigma virus with a different name and a physical "syringe" to infect reploids with. Isoc/Wily convinced Gate to rebuild Sigma's body for Wily's purposes, but Sigma/Wily's new body was unfinished by the time X and Zero confront Gate.

After X6, Wily, in a copy of Sigma's body, started calling himself "the Professor", content to be able to have his own body and his own identity instead of sharing a body with Sigma, or inhabiting the less-powerful body that was Isoc. At this point, he was free to get X's data to destroy him and "finally defeat Thomas Light", and get Zero's data to reclaim him.

In X7, Wily's "Sigma" body was completely destroyed, and Wily's consciousness left to wander around to infect any infect-able reploids. However, between X7 and X8 (MMXP), Wily's distant relative, Rosa "Rho" Wily meets up with Zero. Given that the (currently-passive, which means not infectious) core is inside Zero's electronic brain, she communicated with Dr. Albert Wily and convinced him to move on to the afterlife, effectively eradicating the Maverick virus out of existence.

Then, if Sigma was completely dead after X5 and Wily had moved on to the afterlife before X8, why did the X8 reploids go maverick? Where did Sigma come from in X8?

The X8 reploids went maverick because they were forced to work on horrible conditions, and they secretly plotted a rebellion when some of the workers were so overworked that they lost their minds.  
Sigma, in X8, was simply a puppet leader rebuilt by Lumine, and manipulated into believing that the New-Gens are his "children", so that Lumine can use him as a puppet leader to mask his true role in the rebellion.


End file.
